War over Peace
by Yukimi the Ice Goddess
Summary: Three summoners from the magical city of Cephiro were lost shortly after birth and raised by enemy territories. Raised by the enemy to destroy the city, they must fulfill a prophecy that will instead bring it salvation. Please review!
1. Prologue

AN: This chapter has been re-edited and, hopefully, better. I was contemplating updating this story, but upon reading the first chapter I had written months before realized, "This is crap." So I've added more background and description. Please review regarding the changes and I'll hopefully post a new chapter in a week or two!

War over Peace

Fifteen years ago, the Western Desert in the land of Pilaria was occupied by more than just sand and the occasional oasis. Deep within it lay a prosperous city that had reached its golden age. The city was a hub for summoners, gypsies, wizards, and others of magical ilk who had long since retired from traveling the world and settled down with others of their kind. By strange circumstances, their descendants had attained newly discovered powers which no magical user had ever seen before, such as the power to see the future and the ability to communicate with the spirits of the earth. As such, the city had gained a lot of traffic from neighboring villas where the rumors of these precious talents had spread.

Cephiro was peaceful, but the city had three major enemies: The Western city of machines, Autozam, the Eastern city of art, Fahren, and the Southeastern city of mysticism, Chizeta.

These countries had heard of Cephiro's success and were overcome with the desire to attain the magic discovered for their own needs. They attacked Cephiro time and time again but to no avail.

However, one day, the city was attacked and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

The magical earthquake that the weapons designers in Chizeta created shook the hull of the encased city and shattered through its protective magical barrier, which had been created by a few stellar magicians centuries before. Inside, the city's inhabitants screamed in panic and ran wherever their feet could take them. They knew this was no ordinary earthquake. Children cried for their mothers and dogs barked ferociously as the walls began to slowly crumble. Sorcerers began to hastily put up barriers to stop the destruction, but the earthquake shattered through them as though they were made of mere glass.

As the disturbance continued, the city's chief sorcerer, a prodigy who had managed to make himself look forever young, struggled to keep it intact inside Cephiro's central chamber. Usually this area was reserved for incantations of the highest magnitude, but today Guru Clef, as he was so known, was using it to save his home. If the city was destroyed, then all would be lost. Sweat poured down his childlike face as he muttered a spell under his breath. Suddenly, a new shield was erected around the area. To an outsider, it would look surrounded with green fire, although the city would never burn. Sand pounded against the magical walls as the earthquake continued.

A young woman with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail made her way slowly across the chamber as the floor continued to shake. The barrier had only prevented further damage: the earthquake was still having its effect on the city. Struggling to stay upright, she desperately yelled to the sorcerer, "Clef! Cephiro is crumbling as we speak! We must act now! If we do not leave, we will all die!"

Shaking with rage and the power he was emitting, Clef suddenly gasped. The children! he realized. Not a few days before, he had sent three newborn girls to be named. They had not yet returned and he could not think of abandoning them.

"We cannot do anything!" He managed to cry out. "Not until the children are christened! Their powers must be endowed, or we certainly will die!"

Tears streamed down the woman's face as she angrily berated the sorcerer. "What are you saying, Clef? The children cannot do anything! You can! We have to leave!"

Clef gritted his teeth as the world around him turned hazy and he slowly slumped to the floor, completely exhausted. He had used the limits of his strength. As the woman ran to aid him, he whispered, "Tell the pilot to take off..." and fell unconscious.

The woman who was known as Presea nodded eagerly, glad that Clef was finally listening to reason. "Maximum power! We are taking off! Tell the inhabitants to stay low to the ground!" she shouted, leaving the Guru on the floor of the chamber. She knew that no harm would befall him. Incapacitated or not, Clef was a powerful man.

The city had started to accumulate damage from the earthquake as the barrier faded away, but the pilot was quick to respond to Presea's orders. The city slowly lifted itself from the ground, revealing engines underneath it. This was the true identity of the city of Cephiro: a floating castle. The engines had been prepared for a day like this if it ever came. Chunks of the earth scattered everywhere as the city of Cephiro rose from the ground and sped off into the sky.

The earthquake onslaught ceased. Their attackers knew the city was no longer there.

Onboard the flying city, the pilot, a tall man covered in battle scars sat down and let his young protégé take over. The young green-haired boy eagerly grabbed the controls and started to fly the craft. Giggling slightly with excitement and fear, he held tightly onto the helm. "Am I doing it right, sir?" he asked, turning to look at the man who had taught him everything, Dal La Farga.

The man sighed tiredly, smiling gently at the child. Was it really only six years ago that the boy was given to his care as a baby? He was constantly afraid that harm would befall the boy he had adopted, but he knew that at six years of age, he was capable of taking care of himself...to an extent. "Yes, Ferio, you are doing wonderfully. Carry on," he said encouragingly.

A worn but happy Presea walked into the control room and sat down beside the pilot. "Well, La Farga, you saved all of our lives. Thank you." She turned to look at the boy. "Should he be steering? It could be dangerous," she pointed out, slightly worried. They had just avoided being destroyed by Chizeta. It would be a terrible stroke of luck if they had crashed against a mountaintop.

La Farga shrugged. "Why not? He knows the way to The Haven, and the controls are simple. Even a child his age can fly this city." His face turned somber as he remembered something. "The children, the three infant girls we sent to be named...did they come back in time?"

Presea shook her head sadly. "No, I'm afraid not...That is the reason Clef was reluctant to lower the shield..." Staring at the ground, she tried to ignore the tears that were starting to flood her eyes. "It's...It's my fault...I told him that we should leave them..."

La Farga held her gently and let her cry. "Do not worry, nobody blames you. But," he muttered, turning away, "I wonder what shall become of them?"

Two of the girls in question lay near where Cephiro was rooted only minutes before. If Clef had held out a bit longer, they would have been safely inside the city. However, as it was, they were stranded, abandoned by their caretakers. They would have died in that desert...

...If the enemies of their homeland had not come along.

Young Eagle Vision from the Western City of Autozam, a quiet boy no older than four with inquisitive eyes, stood over the red-haired babe, who was separated from her two birth sisters. While the other girls were not related to her, they were all born on the same day, which made the people of Cephiro suspect that they shared magical powers. They were sent to the city of Fahren to be christened and named, but Cephiro was attacked and prevented from receiving them.

Eagle's caretaker, Geo, stood beside his ward, his hand on his shoulder. "Who is she?" he asked curiously.

Eagle looked up at him with his childish eyes. "I dunno. I just found her lying here. But look," he added, pointing to her forehead.

Geo knelt down for closer examination to find a diamond shaped marking on her brow. It was glowing red, as if it had been doused in flame.

Geo's dark eyes widened. "Egad," he whispered in awe. "That's the mark of a summoner. She's special," he continued. Turning to Eagle, he said, "You realize that if we take her, it'll have to be removed."

The younger child's eyes shone happily. "You mean we can keep her?" he cried.

Geo nodded. "Of course. We can't just leave her out here. This place is a desert. She wouldn't survive a day." He motioned for Eagle to follow him back to their ship, the **_Armed Warrior_**, and the younger boy did, carrying, with difficulty, the sleeping baby of a lost city.

Hours later, Chizeta warriors came by the site to see if anything remained of the departed city. However, all they found was a baby girl with hair as blue and mysterious as the inner depths of the sea. They took her into their care, realizing that they could raise a powerful enemy.

The third child, with a head covered in curly golden locks, was kept by Fahren. The heads of the empire had expected Cephiro to come and demand the child back as soon as they discovered she was missing, but no messenger came. The girl was therefore kept, with the intentions of being raised as a merchant.

The three girls were stripped of their summoner's markings and had no knowledge of each other, or their heritage.

This is the story of how they came to fulfill a great prophecy that would turn the tide of the upcoming war.


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

**The date was 15 AGE, or After Golden Era, named for the disappearance of the golden city of Cephiro. No person who had been involved in the battle between Chizeta and Cephiro had any ideas about how it had vanished. It was simply gone one day. Along with the disappearance of the city came the loss of the magic that had been discovered there. Fortune-tellers, animal-speakers, and other such mages were gone from Pilaria. Those who relied on the talents of these few were forced to come up with alternate methods of attaining the luxuries that had come out of these old practices, which was not something to be taken lightly.**

**The best thing that could be said about the mage shortage was that scholars and teachers were much more common. With the absence of powerful magic came the uprising of seekers of knowledge, filling in the gaps that the users of magic left. Unsurprisingly, the most industrious of the old cities was Autozam. People had not taken their mechanics seriously for years. Now, the impoverished had no choice but to put stock in the city's engineers, architects, and others created for the industrial age. Within ten years of the magic shortage, or "The Age of the Drought" as it came to be called, Autozam was extremely wealthy and the standard of living was miles above what it had been in the years before. **

**However, during this time, there were also several magicians wandering around the lands of Pilaria, rebelling against this industrial age. These magicians were called Dark Druids and were believed to be spies sent by Cephiro, which was rumored to have not been destroyed, as was previously stated, but moved to a faraway place to operate as an independent nation. The Dark Druids used...**

"Hikaru?" What are you doing?"

18-year old Hikaru Shidou snapped the History book she was reading shut at the sound of an older man's voice sounding through the library. Knowing who it was before even turning around to face him, she said,

"I'm studying. I've got a huge test this week about the history of Autozam, so I thought I'd research a bit." She smiled. "What are you doing here, Eagle?"

Hikaru Shidou was the youngest mechanic that Autozam had ever known, making her seem more impressive than she looked. She was short for her age, standing at a little less than five feet tall, with flaming red hair tied in a long braid trailing down her back. However, despite her stature, she had the type of presence that drew people's attention to her. She was always smiling and running around, when she wasn't fixing up the mecha—robot like machines—that were given to her for repairs by the people of Autozam. She had also personally been employed by the royalty of Autozam and was a close personal friend with the crown prince, Eagle Vision.

Eagle Vision was a different case almost altogether. While Hikaru had an obvious kind of happiness, Eagle was more reserved and thoughtful. He was always polite to anyone he talked to, and despite being the prince he was not spoiled. Rather, he had a down-to-earth personality and an open mind. He was very serene and his calm brown eyes seemed to positively radiate trust. However, rumors were constantly started about him and Hikaru by the people of Autozam, such as that he only employed her because she had been adopted by his family. As such, he was forced to prove this wasn't so by halting most friendly conversation with his friend, unless they were alone or with Geo and Zazu, attendants of the royal family and close friends to the both of them.

Eagle now raised an eyebrow at the question Hikaru posed. "I was looking for you," he said, smiling evenly. "It isn't like you to be in the library on a day like this. It's beautiful outside," he continued, waving his hand towards an open window.

Hikaru stared outside wistfully for a few seconds before she stubbornly shook her head. "No! I have to study! I can't fail this test!" Hikaru frowned at Eagle, resisting the urge to go over to the window and soak in the sunlight streaming into the room. Her friend was right: being indoors did not suit her.

Eagle ruffled his own short blonde hair, grinning at Hikaru's determination. "All right. I won't stop you. However," he added, picking up Hikaru's copy of Autozam History, "This copy's a bit old. It's 18 AGE now and this was made back in 16 AGE. A lot's happened during the past two years."

Hikaru blushed slightly with embarrassment, hurriedly took the book out of her friend's hands, and walked quickly away to search for a newer copy. Staring after her, Eagle chuckled and followed.

"Hikaru," he called as the girl turned around, "If you don't mind, would you like to come up to the Gardens after you're done studying? Zazu keeps talking about this weird bird he keeps seeing up there, so I thought you'd like to come and see it for yourself."

Hikaru beamed. The Gardens were a private sanctuary owned by Eagle's family, filled with rare plants and animals. Animals were a passion of Hikaru's, which Eagle knew full well. "That'd be great! I'm so excited! Thank you!" she gushed, a huge grin on her childlike face.

Eagle nodded, still smiling. "Not a problem. However," he intoned, "If you want to see it, you'd better hurry up. Zazu says it disappears around midday." Waving at Hikaru and laughing gently at her sudden silence, he walked away.

Hikaru stood up and watched him leave, feeling torn. If she wanted to see the bird, she would have to stop studying. Glancing over at the stack of books on her table, she promised she would make up for the work later and ran after the prince.

"That wasn't fair, Eagle!" she pouted after she had caught up with him. "You know I have studying to do!"

Eagle laughed heartily, tousling Hikaru's hair, as he often did to tease her. "Give me a break. You've been cooped up in that library for days. I had to do something to get you out of there, or you would have never come out."

Her cheeks slightly flushed, Hikaru grinned up at him and took his hand. "Thanks," she said. "I know you're always thinking about me." She released his hand and walked ahead. "But," she continued, "I've got to work hard. It's payment to you and your family for taking such good care of me!"

Hikaru had long since known that she was an adopted child. Eagle's family had taken her in when she was small and welcomed her as if she really was related to them. She often felt so at home that she forgot she wasn't their child by birthright.

She turned back to look at him, a soft smile touching her lips. "I wouldn't feel right just taking advantage of your kindness like that."

Eagle smiled back and cupped Hikaru's cheeks with his hands, startling her. "Maybe so, but you've been overworking yourself lately. On top of schoolwork, you've got a job and with all of the studying you're putting in now, I never get a chance to see you anymore."

Hikaru stared into Eagle's eyes, trembling slightly from his touch. She started to reply, but a loud shout from behind them brought her back to reality.

"Hey, Eagle!" the voice boomed. "It's about time we found you two! You weren't doing anything improper to Hikaru, were you?"

The two friends turned to find Geo and the fourteen-year old Zazu, waving cheekily at them from a pier on the complex level above them. Zazu stared down at them silently, a slight grin on his face. "What's up, Hikaru?" the younger boy called, his voice slightly teasing.

Hikaru waved gaily up at them as Eagle jovially called, "I wasn't doing anything improper. She had something in her eye." Winking at Hikaru, he motioned her to follow him. After a second of stunned silence, she did.

As the foursome walked up the steep incline leading to the Gardens, Hikaru noticed that Zazu was staring at her oddly and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Zazu quickly shook his head. "It's nothing, just…" He gulped. "Do you…like Eagle?" He stared at Hikaru, as if trying to analyze her thoughts by looking at her expression.

Hikaru blinked a few times, clearly surprised. "Do I…like him?" After a moment, she smiled. "Of course I do!"

Zazu gasped and waved his arms about. "What? Really?" he stammered. Suddenly aware that he was acting extremely silly, he glued his arms to his sides. He repeated his question stiffly. "You like Eagle?"

Hikaru nodded. "Of course I like Eagle! Just like I like you, and Geo, and all the people of Autozam! I like all of you!" she replied cheerfully.

After hearing this, Zazu relaxed somewhat and stared down at his shoes, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Oh…you meant THAT kind of like…I see." He laughed and Hikaru laughed with him, although she was slightly confused.

Minutes later, Hikaru and the rest were in the Gardens, a gigantic open air arboretum, famed by the people of Autozam as the largest gathering of wildlife and plants in one place in the entire city. Covered with leafy trees, mossy boulders, and grassy knolls, it stood on top of a huge cliff overlooking the royal palace. It was quite a hike, but well worth the effort in Hikaru's opinion.

The group made their way through their dense, almost jungle-like surroundings, with Zazu leading the way. "It was over here the last time I saw it!" he called back as he ran ahead. In his distraction, he tripped backwards over a huge root sticking out of the ground. As his friends rushed over to see if he was all right, he sat up, clutching a beautiful bird in his hands.

Zazu chuckled. "That was lucky," he commented glibly, stroking the bird's feathers. It was big by the usual standards for birds, almost as large as a small dog. It had beautiful lavender plumage, except for its head feathers which were bright red.

Its large dark eyes stared straight into Hikaru's own. Hikaru smiled and reached out to stroke its brow, but before she could, the bird gave out a shriek and began to glow, startling everyone around it. After the confusion had died down, they saw it had vanished, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

Zazu waved his hands around uncertainly where the bird had stood as Geo checked his pocket watch. "Exactly midday," he reported, flashing a grin. "I guess that bird has a strict schedule."

Eagle shook his head in amazement. "Absolutely breathtaking," he whispered, awestruck at the spectacle they had just witnessed. "Zazu, when you said the bird disappeared around midday, I didn't know you meant that literally!"

Zazu shook his head. "I didn't. I just lost sight of it before."

"I wonder where it goes…" Hikaru muttered, looking around vaguely to see if the bird was anywhere nearby. Inching over to a nearby cliff side to get a better view, she glanced over the edge.

Hikaru gasped. Instead of seeing a bird fly past her head, she saw a dark shape shoot out of a storm cloud a few miles away. It was hard to tell its specific features from the speed at which it was moving, but Hikaru could have sworn that it was a horseman.

The shape then slowed down and proved Hikaru right.

Everything about the rider seemed dark. He was clothed in a long black magician's robe which covered everything but his face. A heavy-bladed sword was strapped to his back and he rode upon a midnight black steed, which pawed the air at odd intervals as they traversed the skies. The man's stony expression lent to his aura. He was dangerous, clearly not a man you would want to meet on a dark night, and he wore the confidence a warrior holds just as easily as he did his robe.

For a split second, his dark, expressionless eyes met Hikaru's. Then, he nudged his horse and turned away, leaving Hikaru alone.

Well, not quite alone.

"Who was that?" Eagle muttered to himself, as much as to Hikaru. "He looked very strange. I've never seen that style of dress before…"

Hikaru gulped. "I…was reading about Dark Druids in that history textbook. Do you think…?"

Eagle shook his head. "Dark Druids don't exist. That was proven by my family months ago. No, it's more likely that man was a spy. What worries me is…" he continued, "How did he tame that horse? Flying horses are extremely wild. He must have powerful magic."

Hikaru tried to shove the thought of the swordsman out of her mind. He was just a strange passerby, nothing more.

However, this was not to be…

…for the next morning, Hikaru woke up on the back of that very same horse, her sleepy eyes staring into those of the dark rider himself.

* * *

Fahren: City of Arts

The land of Fahren was a different environment from Autozam altogether. While Autozam was filled with machines and buildings, Fahren was a beautification ground. Trees were planted by professional landscape designers with just the right touch to make it seem as if they grew naturally. Tranquility was the watchword. The only sounds that could be heard before the city started to awaken were birds chirping, the wind blowing…

…and an abacus clacking as Fuu Houoji tallied up the earnings her family had made on the previous day.

There was only one word that could describe Fuu in the people of Fahren's eyes: quaint. She had been raised as a merchant since she was very small, her actual heritage a mystery. Although she was quite adept at business dealings, a skill that helped her father when he was in a tight spot, she was extremely shy and withdrawn. This was the main reason that she did not handle customers who came to their tiny shop, looking to buy strange oddities from around the world.

…That and the fact that Fuu was considered an oddity herself. Her personality may have been quiet, but her looks certainly stood out. While the rest of the capital of Fahren had dark hair and even darker eyes, Fuu's eyes, hidden behind a pair of glasses, were a pale, silent shade of green. Her cropped blonde hair was even more shocking and drew many people to the shop, but those people weren't interested in buying trinkets. In order to preserve his adopted daughter's virtue, the merchant kept his daughter in the backroom which served as their home. He considered using a special dye to darken Fuu's hair, but her hair seemed impervious to it. No matter how many hours Fuu's hair soaked in the dye, it would stay the same sunlit color it had always been.

On this particular morning, Fuu ran her fingers through her dye-resistant hair as she took inventory. The previous day had not been a good day for sales. Only one person had come into their shop to buy something, and that something was only a coil of rope. The man had been a foreigner, so her father had tried to sell some of Fahren's famous silk to the stranger. The stranger refused, saying he didn't need any "fancy threads."

Fuu's mind wandered as she remembered the man. He had small scars all along his nose and one large one on his cheek. Fuu could tell he had been in a lot of battles by those scars as well as the way he carried himself. He had green eyes and hair and carried a sword nearly as big as he was over his shoulder with one hand. A very impressive feat, Fuu reflected. The men of Fahren were mostly fishermen. They had none of the muscles and unwavering confidence that this stranger possessed.

Fuu blushed as she recalled his bottle green orbs. Somehow, she had felt some familiarity towards the stranger. Maybe it was because they had the same eyes…

A tinkle of wind chimes outside her room broke her reverie. The breeze was picking up slightly. Standing up, Fuu put away her abacus and slid into her morning robe, a yukata-like dress which brought out the shade of her eyes. She loved the wind. She loved its subtleties and how it seemed to have its own way of doing things. It was completely different from the Fahren ideal of community and sameness.

Fuu sighed and nudged her glasses further up her nose. She often felt like she was in a cage. Freedom was inches within her grasp but she was unable to touch it.

Stepping outside, Fuu closed her eyes and let the wind sweep her hair back, a dainty smile on her face. When she opened them, she noticed the red and orange symbol of the princess of Fahren hanging from her wind chimes.

Fuu took the symbol, puzzled. Lady Aska, the princess of Fahren, was her secret friend. They talked behind her father's shop when Aska skipped her classes, which was very often. However, when Aska wanted to talk to Fuu, she usually came to her in person instead of sending the seal of the royal house, which was usually reserved for serious matters.

Fuu cleared her throat importantly. "Long live Aska," she intoned, triggering the automatic response on the seal, which exploded into confetti, leaving a letter behind.

_To the House of Houoji, _the letter began,

_The Royal House of Fahren requests the presence of any daughters you may have in your household to participate in an important diplomatic delegation on behalf of the entire country._

_As you may have been informed, the representative of an expanding kingdom to the southwest arrived yesterday morning to extend the hand of friendship to our people. He has brought us a great many gifts from his nation to ensure that a bond may be formed between our two countries. However, in exchange he has asked for an example of our arts. Since we are unable to determine whether or not this foreign diplomat means us harm of any sort, we are forced to send one of our own to accompany him on his journey back to his homeland. Given that our young men are busy preparing for the upcoming war with the east, we require a young lady to perform the service. We realize this is a great deal to ask, so in return we will present the house which donates their daughter or wife a sum of 100,000 yen. _

_Never fear. These young ladies will not be put in harm's way._

_-From the Royal House of Fahren_

Fuu peered at the letter curiously, trying to determine why the Royal House was being forced to send a return diplomat. This man, whoever he may be, had clearly acted with good intentions, unless there was something else the letter was not mentioning.

She tried a different approach as she made her way to the royal palace. The letter, she thought, also stated that the diplomat required the use of our country's arts. He could be a con artist. Or a spy.

Fuu sighed. Politics, she reflected bitterly. The Royal House can't allow their secrets to be open to the public. They could easily fall into the wrong hands, such as those of Autozam, their greatest enemy.

"Fuu-chan! Fuu-chan, over here!"

Fuu blinked. She had made her way to the Royal Palace without even realizing it. She turned in the direction of the voice that hailed her.

She smiled kindly and waved. "Sang-yun!" she called. "I thought I recognized your voice! What is it?"

The bashful attendant of Lady Aska made his way over to her. "What are you doing here?" Seeing the note in Fuu's hand, he continued, "You can't seriously be thinking about applying as a diplomat?"

Fuu nodded, a spark of determination growing in her eyes. "Why not? My family needs the money. And also," she added, glancing towards the palace, "I am a bit curious as to who this stranger is."

Sang-yun's shoulders slumped. He had dealt with Fuu's cool brand of determination before. "I can tell I won't be able to stop you," he said dolefully. "Please follow me then," he added. Bowing, he led the way into the reception area.

Fuu's eyes widened as she took in the vast number of girls and young women in the lavishly decorated chamber. While most of them wore the characteristically stoic look of obedient Fahren women, a fair amount looked extremely excited. Some kept glancing at the door leading into the guest rooms while hiding their eyes behind their fans. Others weren't as subtle. They openly chattered with their friends and giggled loudly while staring at the same door.

This stranger must be handsome, Fuu considered. Either that, or very unusual. Or both. Trembling slightly now from nerves Fuu took her place with the rest of the women just as the door opened.

A number of women cheered and sighed as the stranger came out, carrying his sword over his shoulder. They swooned as he cast his eyes their way and blushed as he flashed his brilliantly white teeth. He finally held up one hand for silence as he reached the center of the room and began to toy with one of his earrings, hidden until then by his dark green hair.

Fuu stood stock still, trying vainly to catch her breath. He was dressed differently and his hair had been let down from its tiny ponytail, but there was no doubt: The foreign emissary was the stranger that had visited her father's shop the previous day.

Heart pounding, Fuu looked down at the ground and began to sort out the facts. Did he come to their shop to see if he could buy Fahren's secrets? What sense did that make? Maybe she just couldn't see the answer because of the sensation she had that the room had suddenly gotten smaller…

Trumpets sounded and Lady Aska of Fahren settled herself on her throne. She had been crowned young since her father had died two years before of a terminal illness. At times, she seemed very immature, so she needed constant guidance from her father's advisor, Qiang Ang. Her dark hair was pulled up into a bun and her quirky dark eyes betrayed her troublesome nature. Nevertheless, she was a fair ruler and a good friend.

However, now she looked uncharacteristically serious. Her usually jubilant eyes were narrowed and apprehensive. "Here you have it, Sir Ferio of…what did you say your country's name was?" she asked.

"Uh…it was…Lucia. The city of Light," he said hesitantly.

Fuu's eyebrows raised her eyebrows. Very suspicious, she mused. Surely he should know his own country's name?

Lady Aska nodded imperiously. "Yes of course." She waved to the many ladies now in her court. "You may pick any of these maidens to accompany you. We do, however, expect you to take responsibility for them. If something were to happen to them…" she intoned, ominous eyes peering over her fan.

Ferio ignored the threat and cast his eyes around again, startling many swoons from the younger girls. He threw up his hands in mock exasperation. "How can I possibly choose from all of these fine women?" he lamented.

Fuu wasn't sure whether to admire the man or be embarrassed for him. He was as good as mocking the Empress! If he was one of Lady Aska's servants, he would be on his way to the torture chamber for his insolence.

Ferio appeared to seriously consider what was asked of him for a minute and gazed out at the sea of women before him. Finally, his eyes rested on Fuu's own. A slight smile on his lips, he strode forward.

Fuu's heart began to pound again. She hastily looked at her feet as if to find inspiration there. When Ferio placed his hand on her shoulder, she stiffened and looked up, protest in her eyes.

The man leaned forward to whisper into her ear, much to her surprise.

"It's all right. Don't be scared."

_A large man stood behind her as she nervously tried out the controls for the ship for the first time. She gripped the wheel cautiously. She could feel the sweat beads forming on her brow and resisted wiping them off. This was her chance to show that she could handle flying an airship._

_Taking a deep breath, she turned the wheel to the right. The ship lurched, as if it had been hit with something. Panicking, she hastily turned the ship to the left and tried to correct her mistake. She'd used too much force. That could cost her in a combat situation. _

_Seconds later, the ship was back on track. Breathing a sigh of relief, she glanced at her teacher with pleading eyes. The older man stared for a minute before his mouth formed a slow smile. _

_"Good job. That was great for your first time," he said, stepping forward to lift her into his strong arms. "You'll be a great pilot someday, Ferio."_

_Tears formed unbidden into her eyes. Looking away, she muttered a barely audible, "Thank you."_

_"Wait…" a part of her thought from far away._

_Ferio?_

Blinking suddenly, Fuu regained awareness of her surroundings. She was off the ship and back in Lady Aska's palace. The rest of the women were gone and Lady Aska and Ferio seemed to be arguing heatedly about something. She couldn't quite hear, but she was sure it was somehow about her.

She touched her head softly. What was that? That vision felt so real…

Was she going crazy?

The debate grew louder.

"We do not agree to this! Fuu is not a native to Fahren; therefore, she should not be able to accompany you!"

"What sense does that make? You said any woman in this city could be the representative of your country! There were no exceptions! I chose that girl, so she should be able to go with me! Unless, that is, you mean to say that you do not need an ally in the war against Autozam?"

"We…did not say that. Fuu is not experienced in foreign affairs, that is all. She could be in serious…"

"Didn't I say I'd take care of her? An alliance should not start out on such shaky ground, Empress. And…An Empress should not make decisions based on personal feelings."

Silence followed. Fuu could tell that Aska was making things up as she went along. She knew that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Her protests resulted from their friendship.

Fuu couldn't let her jeopardize an alliance, especially in a time of war. She walked forward and put her hand on Ferio's shoulder.

"Please, Empress Aska," Fuu said, startling both of her listeners into silence. "I am sure that Master Ferio will be able to take care of me adequately. Besides," she continued, ignoring the growing look of anger and despair in Aska's eyes, "I am capable of using a bow and arrow. If we are somehow separated, I will make my way back to the empire and report to you."

The two girls' eyes met, Fuu's determined and Aska's sadly accepting. Hesitating, the Empress bowed. "Very well, Ferio. You may take this girl as an honored diplomat from our country of Fahren."

Ferio stared, bowed deeply and took Fuu's hand. As they walked off, Fuu gazed back at the Empress in silent apology. Aska refused to meet her gaze.

"That was some fast talking," Ferio commented after the two of them had left the city's borders.

Fuu blinked. She stared straight ahead as was custom when being spoken to by a strange man and replied, "I am most willing to participate in this new treaty between our countries."

Ferio chuckled grimly, startling Fuu. "Oh, I'm very glad to be participating in this treaty as well. Tell me, Fuu," he said bluntly, "When I spoke to you in that conference hall, did you have any…visions or anything?"

Fuu stopped moving altogether. She started to break out in cold sweat and only managed a shaky, "I'm…not sure what you mean," as a reply.

Ferio turned to stare at her while fumbling in his pockets. "I think you do know what I mean, Fuu, at least the part about the visions. What I'm talking about is your heritage. Ever wonder where you came from?" When she didn't answer, he grinned cheekily and brought out an ornate whistle from his pocket. "I'll explain on the way."

With that he blew on the whistle. A second later the two of them were swept away by what felt to Fuu like an amazingly large bird, the same color as the jade her father sold. After mouthing silently for a second, she glanced hurriedly at her pocket compass and piped up, "Wait! This isn't southwest! We're heading north!"

Ferio shined his white teeth again in reply. "But of course. North is where we're going. You won't find the hidden city anywhere near southwest. This is just to throw your people off guard."

Fuu's eyes narrowed. "What hidden city are you talking about?"

"Cephiro."

Fuu's heat skipped a beat as Ferio grinned mysteriously. She knew she should have been scared, but somehow it felt as though the cage she had been in all her life had just been opened.

* * *

Chizeta: City of Mysticism

To the east of where Fuu and Ferio were now flying lay the territory of Chizeta, a poverty-stricken country almost completely covered in sand. The rulers of this nation had always aspired to make their country an empire, but although its military started out strong, it had never become powerful enough to expand. The current rulers of the small country, twin queens Tarta and Tatra, were biding their time as Autozam and Fahren warred over gold, a resource which both of the countries needed to prosper. When one of the countries lost to the other, Chizeta would attack the weaker country and start their expansion.

And although Umi Ryuuzaki didn't know it, she was being raised as a powerful general.

The blue-haired beauty grunted mutely as she practiced her fighting techniques on a sand filled dummy as her friend Caldina watched. She was reasonably tall with long sinuous legs and slender but strong arms. She also had the temper of the dragons she was named after: quick and relentless. She had few friends and spent most of her time doing military training, under special orders from the twin queens. Saying she was unsociable was being unfair, however, since people tended to stay away from her rather than her avoiding others.

Caldina, one of her few friends, insisted that it was because of her attitude. Umi, however, did not overlook her most outstanding feature: her pure white skin. In any other country her skin tone would not have been a source of debate, but in the hottest part of Pilaria where temperatures were 90 degrees on a good day, it was an impossible feat. Rumors started to spread throughout the country that Umi was a witch in more ways than one. This resulted in Umi being alone much of the time, making her extremely bitter.

It's not as if I do anything much differently than anyone else, Umi often thought bad-temperedly. I wear the same clothes, I spend the same amount of time outdoors, and I exercise at least twice as much, but my skin won't get dark. It's like it's rejecting the sunlight.

There was, however, nothing that could be done for it. Umi couldn't change her skin or her attitude. As a solution to what Caldina called "the bear inside her," she contented herself with beating the sand out of practice dummies half the day while reserving the other half for eating and sleeping.

On this particular day, the sun seemed even hotter than usual, and it bore down on Umi like a hawk does on a mouse. Nevertheless, she continued to swing her glaive at her target. "Crescent moon," she thought as she swept the bladed end in a side arch, aiming for the dummy's head.

"Swooping feint," she mouthed silently as she made to aim for the dummy's feet with the dull end and pierced its side instead with her weapon's blade.

By twilight, she was covered in sweat from the heat and her workout. Satisfied that she had practiced enough, she put down her weapon and turned to go shower. However, she was stopped by a hulking man with rippling muscles and a disinterested grin on his squarish face.

Apprehension started to set into Umi's mind. She had no questions about what this man wanted. Prostitution was quite ordinary in Chizeta, and it was common practice for women to wear revealing outfits which only covered a woman's breasts and genital areas. However, many men did not want to pay for the services prostitutes provided and resorted to rape.

Umi had no intention of being raped.

She turned to face the man, intent on wiping the slovenly grin off his face. "Let go. In case it's not obvious, I'm not looking for a good time." She tried to tug her wrist out of the man's grip but failed. She winced: he was stronger than he was good looking, that was certain. "I said let go!" she shouted.

The man's grin didn't waver. "I don't think so. You're much more interesting than those wenches over by the baths," he stated, naming the place where prostitutes normally slummed. "Don't get me wrong, they're fun for a night, but I prefer girls with a little more…resistance. Those wenches are too damn submissive." His grin widened as Umi struggled to let herself free. Seizing his chance, he grabbed Umi's face with his other hand and kissed her roughly on the mouth.

Before he could even try kissing her further, he was forcefully pulled away from her and down onto the ground by three strong palace guards. The men were lead by Caldina who cast a critical eye onto Umi's attacker as Umi rubbed her mouth with disgust and horror, breathing heavily from sheer terror.

"Hey," Caldina voiced angrily. "Didn't you know? Umi's off limits. Go to the bathhouses if you need any of your 'urges' satisfied." She pulled him roughly upward by his tunic with strength that Umi didn't know she possessed and said, "I'm not telling you this again. I will report you if I hear of any more incidents. Leave, scum!"

The man scurried and Caldina's fearsome look turned to one of worry as she embraced Umi tightly. "I can't believe that freak! Did he, like, do anything funny to you?" she cried, nearly crushing Umi in her earnestness.

Umi didn't say anything at first. Caldina was a traditional Chizetan female, with sun-browned skin and bleached blond hair. She was cheerful, outgoing, and very flirtatious. Also, because she was low on cash, she often resorted to prostitution to make money. Other times, she danced in the streets for coin. Umi didn't approve of either practice, worried that her friend could get in serious trouble.

And now she's told this felon to go to the bathhouses, she thought despairingly. Can't she see he might go after her now?

Pushing Caldina away shakily, Umi said, "I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me…besides seriously grossing me out." She wiped her mouth again, utterly revolted. "I can't believe this…I always thought I'd be able to handle myself against creeps! And you," she continued, turning on a now surprised Caldina, "why did you let him go? Now he's going to go force himself on other girls!" She neglected to mention that she was worried about one girl in particular.

Caldina shook her head, rather calmly despite the circumstances, Umi thought. "Oh, no. He won't try that again." Seeing that Umi was about to protest she raised her hand up and continued. "No, listen! Most girls know how to handle guys like him. Words don't work." She turned away thoughtfully. "I always thought it would come naturally to you, so I, like, didn't force the matter. Mothers normally teach this kind of thing to their daughters."

She took out a silver dagger from a pouch hung around her waist and handed it to the confused Umi. "Here," she said. "If something like that happens again, pretend to go along with it at first. Make him think you want him so he'll let his guard down. Then…" she intoned ominously and winked. Seeing that Umi still didn't get it, she pantomimed a brief stabbing motion with the dagger.

Umi gasped, horrified at what Caldina was telling her to do. "Are you serious? Isn't that a bit much?"

Caldina shrugged offhandedly. "Guys like that don't understand anything else. The only things that make them pay attention are sex and violence." She patted Umi on the shoulder confidently. "With that dagger, you shouldn't have a problem!"

Umi wasn't as sure. As Caldina made her way off with her entourage, Umi stared down at the dagger clasped in her still shaking hand. She ran through the situation in her mind again and again, from the moment she felt him grab her wrist to the moment he grabbed her face.

She shuddered. At the beginning she felt in control. Now, she just felt…violated. If Caldina hadn't been there…

A moment later, she felt another hand grasping her shoulder. She spun around, dagger drawn and ready to fight back this time as adrenaline rushed through her veins. However, this time the hand belonged to a soldier dressed in a green and blue tunic, a uniform that Umi recognized as belonging to Tarta and Tatra's royal guard. "The Queens would like to speak with you, Umi Ryuuzaki," he said stiffly, completely ignoring the fact that Umi had tried to stab him. Motioning Umi to follow him, he turned in the direction of the Queens' chamber. Feeling utterly humiliated, she obeyed.

The long walk to the royal chambers gave Umi plenty of time to think about what had transpired. She had seen the girls who had been attacked by men and did not envy their situation. They were forever recognized as sluts and made outcasts from their families. If the girl became pregnant in the process, the shame was completely unbearable. The children borne, if any, were branded bastards and if on the rare occasion they were twins, they were killed on the spot by the palace guards for the crime of insulting the purity of the twin queens.

Umi sighed bitterly. In short, she thought, nothing would change except that she might have had a child to add onto all her other worries. She had no known family and knew that if any existed in this world, they did not come from Chizeta. Her skin made her an outcast in any case. Nobody but Caldina even acknowledged her.

She suddenly realized that something Caldina had said to her assailant had bothered her. Umi had assumed that Caldina had saved her with the help of the men with her because she was afraid for her friend and did not want her to have a bad reputation. Her actions and tone had both supported this line of thought. But…

"Umi's off limits," she had said.

What was that supposed to mean? Was Caldina her friend because she had been assigned to her?

Umi shook her head roughly. No! That couldn't be true. Why would she be assigned a guard? That didn't make any sense. There was no way she was that important!

Then why did the queens want to see her now? No other attacked women were summoned, not even to identify the man who forced himself on them. And if it was about her military training, couldn't they have waited until morning?

"I will report you if I hear of any more incidents."

Caldina, why didn't you just do it then? This sort of thing happens often enough for it to be a problem. It would have been the right thing to do.

Why didn't you turn him in?

"Enter," the guard commanded, his tone slightly chilling. Umi started; they had reached the palace quicker than she thought. Instead of pushing her through the door as he did with so many other subjects, he held the door open and waited for Umi to cross the threshold into the royal chamber.

After walking in a short way, Umi stopped and gazed at the splendor around her. It had been a while since she had been permitted into this room, and it had changed a lot since then. Before, it reflected the state of the country: poor and shabby. The walls had been tarnished and the floors were made of wood. Even wooden floors were considered a privilege, since most homes had no floors whatsoever. Sand invaded homes like a plague.

Apparently, this had all changed. The once plain walls were now adorned with tile mosaics depicting the gloriousness of Chizeta. Satin curtains flowed along the walls now decorated with gold trim and newly sanded stone. The floors were tile; Umi's feet were sensitive to the cold surface. In the center of this glorious room stood the queens' themselves, wearing purple silk robes, a color previously scarce.

Umi was awestruck. Did this mean that their country was becoming wealthy again? Would beggars be given jobs and swept off the streets? Would homes have floors? Tarta and Tatra were not the sort of rulers that stockpiled their wealth to use for themselves, although you never could tell with rulers.

Tarta, the younger and more impetuous twin, beckoned Umi forward and motioned for her to sit on a fluffy goose down pillow. Umi did so as she examined the rulers. Tarta looked fairly preoccupied. She was usually haughty and proud, quite the contrast of her sister, who was the fairer and sweeter queen. Tarta handled military while Tatra usually greeted the public and handled foreign affairs, as she was less likely to blow a fuse than her twin.

Something was happening. Umi could feel it in the air.

"Please make yourself at home, Umi," Tatra greeted her, smiling kindly. "Would you like tea? Perhaps some bread? We've imported it straight from Fahren. It's delicious!"

"Cut the crap, Tatra," her twin snapped angrily, her attention focused on Umi. "We have important things to discuss. We aren't just sitting around having dinner."

"Don't be crude, Tarta," Tatra protested mildly. "She's still our guest and I bet she hasn't eaten. It would be rude of us not to offer her a meal."

Umi fidgeted. She hated it when people didn't get to the point, royal or not.

Tarta turned beet red and snapped her head towards Umi. "I suppose you want to know why you're here. The plan of attack has changed. We have decided to align our forces with Fahren. It looks the most likely that they will win the war against Autozam, so we are offering them our services. It has also come to our attention that they are receiving military help from a country called Lucia."

"That's right," Tatra picked up. "So we went to inform them that they had our support and they gave us all of these lovely little peace offerings! Our main goal is to join the war as soon as we can, preferably within the week."

"That's right," Tarta continued, pounding a fist against the wall, "Only we can't, because our army can't get ready in a week. So we're sending out a defense force to test the waters, so to say. It will number one hundred soldiers, fifty archers, and twenty-five gunners."

"That's right," Tatra beamed. "And we want you to lead them as their commander! Isn't that wonderful?"

Umi swayed, shocked by what they were asking of her. "Are you serious?" she eventually managed to gasp. "I've never even led five people, much less one hundred and seventy-five!"

Tatra smiled calmly. "We're positive that you can do it! You're very skilled at fighting, and we see you on the practice courts all the time. You'd be a magnificent general!"

Umi shook her head. "Please understand, your majesties, just because I'm a good fighter doesn't make me a good commander," she said, a hint of pleading in her voice. "I've never even worked with other people in command before. And…" She stopped. She didn't want to voice the fact that she thought that nobody would follow her if she WAS made a commander.

"Nonsense," Tarta barked. "I don't believe you're refusing our orders like this. Any more protests and you'll be punished!"

There's no chance of that happening, Umi thought. Queen Tarta has always been hotheaded. "I'm not refusing," she said, trying to keep calm. "I'm just pointing things out. If you forgive me for asking your majesties, what brought this on? I don't know much about tactics, but it doesn't seem like this would work!"

Umi instantly knew that she had struck a nerve. Tarta had begun tossing her golden hair, a sure sign that she was angry. Tatra, as usual, showed no signs of being anything other than happy. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Umi? I need to remind dear Tarta not to hurt you."

Umi knew when she was dismissed. She bowed stiffly and left the room.

Once outside she leaned against the door and immediately realized that the Queens had not used their new riches to reinforce it. She could hear everything they were saying. Not even daring to breathe, she put her ear against the door.

"I can't believe she'd even dare to make those remarks! We need to punish her!"

"Tarta, you know we can't do that. She's the only soldier we've been using these training techniques on. This would be fifteen years of hard work completely lost."

"Who gives a damn! Why should we extend courtesy to her when she won't even obey us? I told you before we should have made her submissive when we found her!"

"Because, sister, along with her, we found her birth transcripts. We translated them and saw what she could do. She may be the only survivor from the hidden city, and therefore, is extremely valuable. With her powers, she could break into Fahren's vaults and steal all their gold."

"Yeah…yeah, that's what we'll do! Steal the gold and-"

"Tarta, I wasn't serious about that. It wouldn't be smart to steal Fahren's gold; that act would put us on very bad terms with them. We need to solve this problem diplomatically. Fahren's Empress will be able to give us the information we need to determine if the city still exists…willingly or not."

"So what are you saying? We don't attack Autozam?"

"No. We invade the lost city."

"I'm still not sure what you're getting at. Wait…yes I do. We invade the city and make prisoners of its people. And with our mysticism, we'll have hopefully thousands of capable and obedient slaves."

"Exactly! I knew you'd get it eventually, Tarta."

"Then why don't we just do it to the girl as well? We've been patient with her long enough! If she won't obey us, it's the only option we've got!"

"I hate to say it, but I agree with you. If she won't obey our orders…we will have to force her to submit."

Umi trembled with a mixture of anger and fear. She didn't know what this lost city was, and she didn't know what the Queens were actually planning, but she did know that they were planning on using her as a tool to get what they wanted. And whatever they were doing, it wasn't for the good of Chizeta.

Invading some country…making her submit…

Umi suddenly had the urge to run. To run and keep running as far as her legs would take her. There was no way that she was going to be a tool.

She obeyed her urge and dashed away from the door, jumping off a side ramp leading down to the lower levels. Collecting herself after the fall, she ran. A few moments later, she could hear the shouting of angry people chasing her.

They heard me, she realized. They heard me and they can't afford to let me get away. If they catch me…

She was spurred by the thought of how the Queens would torment her and managed to outrun her pursuers until she reached a dead end. A giant wall loomed above her, blocking her escape. Pounding frantically against it, she could hear the guards getting closer and closer. In one final act of desperation, she pressed her palms flat against the wall's surface and pushed with all her might.

To her surprise, the wall gave. She found herself on the floor where the wall had previously been. To her further astonishment, it looked like the wall had never even existed in the first place.

Wasting no time, Umi leapt to her feet and dashed off once again. All the while, her mind raced. The disappearing wall along with all she had heard at the palace was putting her on the edge of hysteria. And to make matters worse, she was beginning to tire. Her mind or her body: one was bound to give in.

A hand from a nearby alley grabbed her arm and pulled her in. Umi panicked, assuming that it was either one of her pursuers or her tormenter from before. Remembering only what Caldina had told her to do, she turned her face upwards and kissed her oppressor passionately on the lips.

The man didn't move at all. Umi took this stillness as shock and continued press against him, reaching her left had behind his head to hold his neck and deepen the embrace. At the same time, she readied her dagger with her other hand positioning it towards the man's back.

Before she tried to strike, she paused. Her common sense had returned and she realized that something was wrong. The man had still made no move to attack her; his hands weren't even around her waist. Instead they were stiffly pinned to his sides.

This man didn't mean her harm. Unlocking their lips, Umi stood back to examine him.

The man was very tall and didn't seem much older than Umi herself. He was dressed rather warmly for Chizeta, with long flowing white robes. His short messy hair was a chestnut brown color, although Umi couldn't tell anything else about his face because one of his hands was pressed against his mouth. His eyes, partly hidden by his hair, were wide and he seemed to be gazing awestruck at her while staring at her face.

One other thing that stopped Umi cold was that this man's skin, apart from his beet red face, was nearly as pale as her own. This feature gave her the courage to speak.

"Who are you?" she stammered, wrapping her arms protectively around her bust. "What do you want?"

The man didn't answer at first, but when Umi started to dash off again, he grabbed her wrist and called, "Are you Umi Ryuuzaki?"

Umi turned back and looked him squarely in the eye. "What if I am?"

The man took a deep breath and said, "Come with me." Tugging Umi's wrist, he pulled her out of the alley: exactly the wrong direction for Umi to go.

"Hey!" she protested, "Not that way! People are chasing me!" It never occurred to her to flee from this boy as well.

Sure enough, the two of them immediately ran into the guards who had been chasing Umi. As they charged towards them, the boy pulled out a staff and began to chant.

Most of the language he was using was meaningless to Umi, but she did catch a little of what he was saying. When he was finished, a monster that resembled an overgrown bird launched itself from his staff and attacked the guards. With the monster as a distraction, the boy tugged at Umi again and they ran to the edge of the city.

When they stopped running, the boy pulled out a flute and began to play. Too stunned to react, Umi waited until a large shape appeared from above the clouds and flew towards them. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be…

…a gigantic flying fish, which flopped every which way in the air.

"Well," Umi muttered, "He's not exactly a knight in shining armor."

The boy jumped onto the fish and rubbed its flank to calm it down. Extending his hand towards Umi, he called, "Get on!"

Umi stared at him as if he were deranged. "Get on? As in RIDE that thing?"

"It's perfectly safe," he yelled. "My friend won't keep those guards busy for long! We have to hurry!"

"I don't even know who you are! What makes you think I can trust you?" Umi protested hotly.

"I don't expect you to trust me," he countered. "But what's the alternative?"

That shut Umi up. She glanced back fearfully at the city as the boy continued speaking.

"Listen to me. Haven't you ever felt out of place here? Haven't you had this feeling all your life that you belong somewhere else? Haven't you been wondering why your skin won't tan or burn no matter how long you stay in the sun?"

Umi gasped. She turned around and stared hopefully at the strange boy.

"I know you have a lot of questions and I'll answer them as best as I can while we ride. But once you come with me, there will be no returning! And it has to be now!"

Leave Chizeta? Umi thought. Leave Caldina? Leave these people to rot in poverty while I fly away with some boy on a fish?

Finally having every question she had about herself answered?

Umi took a deep breath and nodded grimly. She took the boy's hand and let him help her up just as the guards had defeated the monster and started following them.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" she asked calmly as they flew away from the danger.

The boy turned back to her and blushed, as if still remembering her kiss. Then he shook himself and smiled the most sincere smile Umi had ever seen.

"We're going home."

* * *

AN: This is probably the longest chapter you will see from me, ever. I'm sorry it took so long to update. From this day on, I will be updating all of my stories on a regular basis, hopefully at least once a week. I've been slacking over the past year, and I just want you to know that I'm not dead.

I hope you enjoyed this. Please review and I'll comment!


	3. Hikaru Kidnapped!

Chapter 2: Hikaru Kidnapped! 

Hikaru was speechless with shock. Waking up in the arms of a complete stranger was something that did not happen all too often. Wondering for a minute if she was still dreaming, she slowly reached her hand towards the stranger's face and gently brushed his cheek. It was warm against her chilled hand, proving that she was awake.

Hikaru shivered slightly. A cool breeze had passed through the air and she was wearing nothing but a thin white nightgown. A soft whickering noise beneath her startled her into looking down. Below her lay a vast expanse of land, partially covered by clouds. The trees looked like they were small enough to pick up and put in her pocket. The whickering started again and she noticed that she and her stranger were riding on a midnight black horse.

She was riding above the clouds on a flying steed.

Hikaru panicked suddenly and formed a tighter hold on the horse's master as she stared down, paralyzed, at the ground far below her. She was not normally afraid of heights, but the reality of the situation hit her so suddenly that she could not help feeling frightened. Uttering a soft moan, she focused her eyes on the back of the horse's neck. She was aware that her breathing was becoming heavy and ragged and fought vainly to calm herself.

"Don't squirm," the stranger said abruptly. "You'll fall off. I might be able to catch you from this height, but then again I might not."

Hikaru took a deep breath and loosened her grip. "Who…are you? Why…why am I here?" she stammered. She did not like how small her voice sounded. Was this what happened when you were truly afraid?

The man did not answer right away. When he did, he only said, "Later." Murmuring to his mount, he steered the beast down towards the ground, preparing to land.

Hikaru was glad they were going to be out of the air. Maybe once she had regained her usual confidence, she could get some answers about what was going on.

Suddenly, the man stiffened. Turning his head around, he saw a shadowy figure coming towards them at top speed. He cursed under his breath before muttering a hurried "Hold on," to Hikaru. Before she could question him, he had let forth a sharp whistle and the horse they were riding began a sharp descent, almost plummeting towards the ground below.

Hikaru could not stifle her screams as the wind whipped her long red hair out of her face. She felt a plunging sensation in her stomach. The ground seemed to be spinning wildly out of control and her head was filled with frightened thoughts of her letting go of the stranger and falling to her death. As she screamed, she closed her eyes tightly, faintly aware that the stranger was calling out quick commands to his horse, urging him to go faster. The horse obeyed, traveling now at breakneck speed.

Hikaru was sure they were going to crash into the ground, but at the last minute, the horse pulled up and placed all four hoofs on the floor. Barely pausing to gain its balance, the horse galloped into the nearby woods. Hikaru wondered briefly why they were hurrying to get away when she was hit full on by a blast of heat. Whatever was pursuing them had fired a barrage of fireballs to block their path. Their horse reared up and whinnied with fright, nearly bucking its two riders off its back.

Mages? Hikaru thought vaguely behind the panic. Why are battle mages attacking this man? Could it be I've been kidnapped by a criminal?

"Kuso…" the man swore angrily. Thinking fast, he repositioned Hikaru so that she was no longer clinging to him. Then, shouting out a rapid incantation, he drew his sword from its sheath and thrust it towards the quickly spreading flame.

Hikaru's eyes widened as a sinuous watery shape forced itself out of the man's blade. Twisting and writhing in the air above them, the shape eventually took on the form of a translucent blue salamander. The watery beast hesitated for only a second before breathing a stream of water onto the ring of fire. After the flames were doused, the lizard disappeared and the man yelled at the horse to continue. He then yelled another incantation and sent a bolt of lightning to strike down their assailant.

"Who is this man?" Hikaru still wondered as they raced through the trees. "What is going on?"

After what seemed like forever, the horse started to slow down. The man steered him over to a thick overgrowth, dismounted, and crouched down low in the brush. He motioned Hikaru to follow him and she quickly obeyed.

"Who—"she began, interrupted when the man clamped a hand over her mouth. Placing his free finger over his own lips in a gesture of silence, he stared intently at the sky. Satisfied that their pursuer had vanished, he released Hikaru, who gasped for breath. This man was strong; he had nearly cut off her air supply.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, the man spoke. "We are safe now. You can come out."

"Safe?" Hikaru repeated dazedly. When the man did not answer, she began to grow angry. This man had put her through hell and scared her near to death and he wouldn't even say who he was? "I won't consider myself safe until I have some answers from you! Now, tell me! Who are you and why have you kidnapped me?"

The man turned around, a small frown imprinted on his face. "Kidnapped? I think not. I am not a criminal."

"You're not an honest man, either!" Hikaru continued, her indignation rising every second. "You take me from my bed when I'm sleeping, you don't explain who you are when I wake up, and on top of it all, you're being chased by mages!" Suddenly Hikaru stopped talking. Something had occurred to her. "I saw you before. Up at the gardens…you were watching me, weren't you?" She turned from him to his horse, which was now grazing calmly, despite all the noise. "Did you steal that horse? Is that why the mages are after you?"

The last remark drew a slight smile from the stranger. "No. The horse is my own. I raised him myself." His face grew harsh again. "But yes, I was watching you near the place you call the Gardens. But I only 'kidnapped' you, as you say, because it was the only feasible way to accomplish my set task."

Hikaru was slightly calmer now, but not by much. "You still haven't told me who you are," she said pointedly.

"True," the man acknowledged. "I am called Lantis. I was assigned the task of finding you, Hikaru Shidou, and escorting you to my superiors."

Hikaru was confused. "Who are your superiors? And why did you need to find me?"

Lantis did not answer right away. Instead he unsheathed his sword and held it at arms length for Hikaru to see. "This sword is special," he said after a short pause, grasping the sword so that sunbeams bounced off the blade. "It is only awarded to those who are close to the royal family of my kingdom." He turned toward Hikaru. "There is a special engraving on it. Can you read it?"

Cautiously, Hikaru stepped forward to examine the weapon. It was obviously of very fine craftsmanship, with an ancient-looking opal implanted in the leather bound hilt. However, the blade was the most unusual thing Hikaru had ever seen. It was not made of steel as most sword blades were. Instead, it seemed to be carved out of some sort of diamond, perfectly smooth and transparent. At first she wondered how there could be anything visible written on the precious stone, but then it became apparent to her that the sun was forming patterns on its surface. After staring hard at it for a moment, the patterns slowly emerged from the blade and became visible.

They were written in a very strange language, uncommonly old. Hikaru could not remember any new languages being created in the past ten years, but the writing seemed to emanate an ancient feeling, as if they had been there since the dawn of time. The words entered Hikaru's mind, and to her surprise, she could understand what they meant. Trancelike, Hikaru recited the scripture, her eyes closed in seeming remembrance.

"**When three summoners of the sacred elements,**

**Fire, water, and wind,**

**Are born on the day of prophecy,**

**Destruction is inevitable. **

**But never fear.**

**The enemies of the lost city will become its greatest weapon**

**And the children of foresight will bring salvation.**

**The beasts of destiny will be called into this world**

**And peace shall be restored through the lost arts.**

**But be forewarned,**

**The earth's magic must not be disturbed**

**Or this world shall meet its end."**

The sword's glow dimmed slightly as Hikaru's voice faded. She put a hand to her forehead; a throbbing pain had started to make itself known. Satisfied, Lantis nodded slightly and sheathed his blade.

"What…was that? What did it mean?" Hikaru asked.

"The fact that you could read that inscription proves that it states the truth," Lantis commented. "That was a prophecy made by a very skilled fortune teller named Presea. Eighteen years ago, she made that prediction and half of it came true. My city was destroyed. I was barely a child myself when it happened."

Hikaru did not speak. Her eyes had widened with sudden insight. Everything had started coming together for her. Eighteen years ago…a destroyed city…

"Fortune tellers," Hikaru muttered, "haven't existed for years. For this Presea to have made that prophecy…" She gulped visibly. "You can't mean that—"

"Yes," Lantis said grimly. "The city I speak of is the lost city of magic. Cephiro."

Cephiro!

Hikaru's heart began to pound with excitement. She had only ever heard about Cephiro through history books. She had heard of elders at Autozam speak of the lost city back when it was in its prime. The Golden Era of Magic had been stopped abruptly when Chizetan scientists invented a weapon that could destroy all life within a hundred mile radius: their earthquake machine. Cephiro had been demolished.

To think that the city and its people might still exist…

"Perhaps I should correct my previous statement," Lantis continued, carefully noting Hikaru's stunned expression. "The city was _presumed _destroyed. The head sorcerer, Guru Clef, managed to salvage enough of the city to make a getaway. The survivors went into hiding and never revealed themselves to the rest of the world." He smiled humorlessly. "Cephiro is ruins now. The moment the city landed, most of the structures collapsed. If our leaders had revealed the city's location, they would have been struck down. It isn't every day a superpower is weakened to the point of destruction."

"Hold on," Hikaru interrupted hurriedly. "You said the city landed? What do you mean by that?"

Lantis frowned. This was what the girl was paying attention to? "I mean, the city was designed to work as an airship as well. It was fitted with propellers."

Hikaru slowly broke out into a grin and her eyes began to sparkle. Her love of mecha had overcome her shock. "I wish I could have seen that!" she gushed.

"Well, you will," said Lantis. "First hand. You're coming with me."

Hikaru stopped gushing and turned to stare at her captor. "What do you mean?" she asked obliviously.

"I mean, you're coming with me. Haven't you realized yet why you're here?"

Hikaru thought hard for a moment, going over all of the new information in her head. A moment later, she clapped her hands together in delight. "I know!" she said, as if guessing the answer to a game show question. "If you've come to get me, that means I must be one of those summoners!"

Suddenly, the smile slid off her face. "I'm a summoner," she repeated, disbelief tingeing her now quiet voice.

Lantis nodded harshly. "Bingo," he said.

* * *

Miles away from where Lantis and Hikaru were standing, a harsh wind blew through the northern plains of Pilaria. Tall thin trees were whipped to and fro as if being throttled by the overbearing gusts. In the distance, a falcon let out a harsh war cry as it soared through the air, searching for prey. It found none. The only living creature in the glade in this weather was a young-looking man, drawing a circle in the ground with a pointed white staff.

The man was of a slight wiry build, not possessing powerful physique. He was dressed in loose, white, magician's robes. The white color denoted his rank as a master magician of a powerful guild, as did the decorative circlet he wore around his head. With piercing green eyes and wavy lavender hair, he made a handsome figure, although he was much older than he looked. This was Guru Clef, the master magician of the lost city of Cephiro, who had not aged in over twenty years.

Clef had gained his fame and prestige as a mage by inventing a youth serum. By drinking this concoction, an individual's internal clock would stop completely and they would stay the same age for all time, virtually immortal. However, Clef had also discovered the drawbacks to his invention. Although his body never aged, it was extremely prone to illness. At least once a month, he would become contagious and forced into isolation, for although he could not die of any sort of plague, he could spread it and cause numerous others to die.

Clef also knew that the worst was to come as the years went by. He looked at the young men and women that made up the survivors of Cephiro's destruction and was filled with sadness. They had only been children when he had drunken the youth serum and now they were his age. His old friends had grown into their fifties while he stayed young. In fifty more years, he would still be the master magician Clef, but everyone he had known from his childhood would be dead and gone.

However, eternal youth stillhad its bonuses: his magic was still stronger than ever, and would never wane.

Now Clef stood and admired his work, a magic circle with an inscribed hexagon drawn onto the ground. Closing his eyes in concentration, he spoke several power spells aloud. His aura, a hazy purple fire, gathered around him and spread into his staff. The magic circle began to glow with the same lavender flame.

Finally, with one last shout, the fires burst into the air. The intertwining lights gave way to form a globe. Three small dots suddenly appeared on the globe, two of them moving steadily towards his location. The other was still. The map spell had been completed.

Clef's eyes narrowed at the immobile dot.

That's odd…

Footsteps sounded behind him. Turning around, he stood face to face with Presea, the fortune teller of Cephiro. Her long blonde hair trailed down behind her in a ponytail, which swayed with the wind. Turning her kind brown eyes on the magician, she smoothed her white dress and said, "Find anything?"

Clef's felt a pang of sadness as he looked at Presea, as he always did. Apart from him, she was the only one to suffer the fate of eternal youth. When Clef had announced that he was destroying his creation, Presea insisted that she take some of it as well. When Clef refused, she sneaked into his private workshop and stole a draught of the serum.

Years later, Clef noticed that Presea had not aged a day. When questioned, she told him of her past misdeeds. When asked her reason for drinking the forbidden solution, she only smiled and said, "Now, hundreds of years from now, you won't be alone."

Poor wretched girl, Clef thought sadly. You have no idea how alone you and I will both be.

Now, Clef turned his attention to her question. "The map spell I made seems to be working," he said, nodding to the globe. "However, I noticed something odd. Lantis seems to have gone off his set path. It will take him days to get here, longer still if he goes by land."

Presea's eyes widened. "What could have caused him to go so off course?" Suddenly, a thought struck her. "You don't think…they could have been intercepted?"

Clef shook his head. "I don't know," he muttered. "I have faith in Lantis' ability to take care of himself. However, if one of the children is in his care…it could be difficult."

Presea said nothing. After a short pause, Clef turned to her and smiled sadly. "If only we had listened to your warning," he said to her. "We could have kept the children with us instead of sending them to Fahren. This whole process would have been so much easier if they were here with us."

"No," Presea corrected him. "I have no doubt that this is the way things were meant to be. The only thing we need to worry about is where their loyalties lie."

"What do you mean?"

Presea sighed. "I fear…the one with affinity to water could prove difficult to handle. She has a strong spirit. Perhaps too strong. And her trust will have to be restored." Her voice caught slightly, as if she could feel Umi's thoughts. "The poor dear has had a hard life, one with few friends and family. I think sending her Ascot is the best thing we could have done."

Clef nodded curtly. "However," he mused, "The trials that all of them will face coming here will be great."

"Who are you expecting first?"

"The wind-child. They are closest, and Ferio's beast flies without tiring."

Neither of them spoke for a while. The wind continued to blow, neither ceasing nor slowing. "This wind," Presea eventually said, "is an omen. Many bad things will come of it."

"What else do your omens say?" Clef asked.

"I'm not sure. Even I can't tell what will come of all this."

"Gods help us," Clef whispered. "Please don't let this city fall."


	4. Prophecy

War over Peace

Chapter 4: Prophecy

"So, hey, how come you ride on a flying fish?"

Daylight was starting to dim as Ascot and Umi rode through the sky on "Fyula", Ascot's guardian beast. The sun hung low in the sky, a magnificent fruit with creamy clouds as garnishes. The ground below them seemed like a painter's canvas which the rays of the sun softly illuminated with a reddish glow. However, the sand-covered earth was slowly turning into the northwestern plains just outside of Chizeta's territory. This was the farthest Umi could remember ever being from her home; she felt extremely unsettled. The breezes whistling past her head did not help. She shivered, more from anxiety than cold, and questioned her companion one more time. "Well? I thought knights were supposed to wear armor and ride horses."

This remark drew a dour chuckle from Ascot. "Well, I'm not really a knight. I'm a magician, and a novice at that. I'm really not qualified to be on this mission at all."

Ascot had long ago explained the situation to Umi. However, she had still not fully accepted his story. Her mind had not completely processed the information. Instead of responding right away, she patted Fyula's glossy scales absentmindedly and began pelting Ascot with inane queries to try and conceal her confusion. She had a vague idea that she was failing, but she did not want to stop, not yet ready to acknowledge the fact that she might be a prophesized summoner from a kingdom long thought destroyed.

She also had the feeling that she was missing something important, but could not remember what it could be. Her rational thought was too busy going to pieces on her.

Her? A summoner? Impossible! There was absolutely no way she could be that important!

The only thing that had her half convinced was this boy, Ascot's, pale skin, the same shade as hers. And perhaps the fact that she had seen him perform magic that she had never seen. And the fact that they were riding on a flying fish.

Okay, she thought stubbornly, maybe I am convinced.

Although she was only half aware of what was going on Umi did notice that Ascot kept turning back to look at her, a flush tinting his white cheeks. She had seen him do that several times before. It had to stop.

"Listen, Ascot," Umi began, asserting her position, "About what happened back in that alley, it didn't mean anything. I kissed you out of self-defense. Stop staring at me, okay?"

She winced; that came out harsher than she had meant it to. Ascot did not seem very put off by her behavior, however. He only did what Umi expected him to: turned away hurriedly, acutely shy. Nonetheless, after a few awkward moments, he spoke to her again. "Wh-what do you mean by…self-defense?"

It was Umi's turn to blush now. "I really don't want to talk about it," she said hurriedly. "It was stupid to bring it up."

"You…"

Umi stared hard at Ascot. He had begun to say something but abruptly stopped and was making a show of adjusting his hat. "You know," Umi peeved, "that skittish attitude of yours is really bugging me. If you want to say something, say it!"

"Well…I was just going to say…" Ascot gulped. "You…don't really want to talk much about anything, do you?"

Taken aback, Umi protested. "What's that supposed to mean? I've been talking to you about a lot of things."

"You've been talking about a lot of things but not really saying anything," the young magician continued, his confidence now bolstered by Umi's behavior. "I mean, after telling you that you're a summoner of prophecy, I'd expect you to be full of curiosity about that, not asking things like whether or not I think it will rain tonight, or if I have a closet full of these hats." After Umi didn't reply, his voice softened as he added, "You're scared, aren't you?"

"Me? Scared?" Umi crowed. "I've never been scared of anything in my life!"

"That's not true or else you wouldn't have kissed me out of 'self-defense'."

Umi recoiled. This conversation was not going the way she wanted it to. "Look, it's just a bit overwhelming, that's all! Anybody would act the same way if they were put in this situation!" She was practically screaming now. "Please just leave me alone!"

Silence. Ascot seemed to be listening to her. With one last angry huff, Umi flopped down on her back and stared up at the now crimson sky. All of a sudden, she felt extremely tired. She stifled a yawn and closed her eyes, trying to take a short rest before sorting out everything.

Before long, however, a storm began to take place inside her.

It's always the same, she thought bitterly. I have to ruin everything. What's the matter with me? Why did I yell at him like that?

I'm a monster.

Engulfed with these stifling feelings of self-pity Umi slowly traveled from her conscious experiences to the land of dreams.

_Umi opened her eyes and gasped wildly as if searching for air. She was in full panic, feeling like she had been plunged underwater when in fact she had been forcefully tugged out of her subconscious. Turning wildly around, she slowly came to her senses and realized that she was no longer riding Fyula with her protector. She looked down below her and noticed that her feet were only touching air. She was floating; why, she did not know. Reasoning that she was probably still dreaming, she decided to enjoy the experience, although it was slightly unnerving. _

_The land below her was different, she realized that. She was not even remotely close to Chizeta now. A vast ocean spread out beneath her, glittering cerulean hues winking at her through the foam. An animal with broad flippers, its body covered with violet scales which twinkled like the brightest diamonds, broke through the waves. It gamboled about for a moment or two before diving under the water's surface once more. Looking upwards, Umi saw that the sky was like an ink well, completely devoid of stars. It was unsettling to Umi; stars shone every night in Chizeta and it was a shock to suddenly find them absent._

_However, Umi quickly shook off the feeling. She was almost transfixed by the sight of the ocean. With every crash of the waves her heart seemed to beat louder. Closing her eyes, she listened to the salty sea breeze whistle past her head and succumbed to the almost intense pleasure which coursed through her body. She breathed a sight of utter contentment feeling completely happy for the first time she could remember. The waves were like music, a sonata of peace which only she could hear._

_The silence was gradually broken by hushed voices nearby. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she was no longer floating above the ocean; she was standing beside it. Now she saw the utter majesty of the sea which she could not properly view from above. A persistent feeling began to tug at the back of her mind as the rippling shadows of once towering waves splashed against her feet._

These voices are important. Ignore the ocean for now. One day you can come back. _That was what the feeling seemed to be saying._

_Umi felt like protesting. She did not want to leave the safety the ocean brought her. However, after tussling with this thought for a few moments, she steadied herself and forced her feet to take her towards the muttered conversation, which sounded like noise after the pleasant hymns of the waves. The voices led to a crackling campfire and a large jade-colored bird resting beside it. The bird was manned by a solid-looking swordsman, a thin young girl with yellow-colored hair standing beside him._

_The girl bit her lower lip thoughtfully, a calculating look on her face. "Ferio, I don't understand some of the things you are telling me. I know this situation is complicated, but perhaps you could shed some light on my questions?"_

_The swordsman took her seriously and nodded, taking Umi slightly aback. Most of the men she had seen would have ignored the girl, or else insulted her. A quiet woman was a good woman in Chizeta. "Ask away. We're not moving for a while, we might as well talk a little," he replied._

_The girl blinked, confusion arising in her face. Apparently, she was not used to this treatment either. "Well," she began, now slightly hesitant, "Why did you wait so long to come and get us? If we really are so important to Cephiro's future, shouldn't we have already known about all this years ago?"_

_Umi's eyes widened. She said 'we'! She thought. She must be a summoner as well! Peering closer at the two travelers, she pondered why the girl was speaking so matter-of-factly about things. _

_Was it just herself who was scared stiff about this?_

_"You're forgetting something, Fuu," the swordsman said, startling Umi out of her reverie. "Our city was hidden, and for a good reason. We were attacked by Chizeta with the intention of being destroyed, wiped off the face of the earth. We would have revealed ourselves by looking for you in full force. Cephiro has no allies; if you were intercepted, all would have been lost and you would have no way to defend yourselves._

_"I want to make something clear," he continued, a sort of harshness coming into his tone. "Fahren is among our enemies. I know you were raised as a Fahrenite and I realize that you hold strong ties to that country, but we will be forced to one day face them in battle. You must realize this."_

_A feeling of nausea had come over Umi as Ferio spoke. Knees buckling, she sank to the ground, nearly rigid with shock. Chizeta, her home, had attacked a city with annihilation in mind. The twin queens had caused the Age of Drought that had brought so much suffering to the land. _

_Looking back on it, this discovery coincided with the Queens' previous behavior the day before in their chamber. What was it they were talking about when she was listening at the door? They were planning another attack somewhere…slaves…the possession of some great magic…_

_It was too much. She nearly missed the rest of the conversation in her distress._

_"…also the matter of age. Summoners mature around eighteen years. Summoning a beast of high power requires a lot of inner strength. Minor beasts can be called upon at age six, sometimes younger, but ones of the magnitudes you must attempt require strength of heart you can't find just anywhere. Since you were born a summoner, you already possess some inner strength. You must mature and grow strong enough to command the great magic. _

_"You three are doubly special, though," he added. "You are each attributed to one element; you are a wind child, one girl is a fire child, and the last is a water child. As such, you'll be able to command other powers besides summoning. For example, you have the power of psychometry. That means you can get information by touching an object, or a person. You'll get them in the form of visions. It's a type of magic that was unique to those of Cephiro. Most psychometrics died out when the city went into hiding."_

_Fuu stayed silent, drinking in every word that Ferio put forth. As he spoke, her eyes glimmered with a sense of awe and respect, then later recognition as he spoke of the psychometrics. All the while she ran her fingers nervously over her hair as if wanting to voice another question. Finally, she asked it, breathless as she did so. "One last thing, please. Why…why must we do this? What will Cephiro accomplish by summoning these spirits?"_

_Ferio's eyes seemed to widen suddenly, although he quickly composed himself. Umi's eyes narrowed at this sudden loss of stability, but she quickly shook it off as he smiled warmly at Fuu. "That's…difficult to say. All most really know is what the prophecy says; the grand summoning must come to pass in order for Cephiro to regain its former prosperity."_

_"Grand Summoning?" Fuu questioned._

_"That is what those in the inner circle of Cephiro's leaders call it. There is a specific time and place when this summoning must occur, but…" he shook his head doubtfully. "According to Presea…that's the prophetess…that time and place won't be revealed until days before it must happen. Even she doesn't know anything about it really."_

_"And the earth's elements…?"_

_Once again, Ferio hesitated. Fuu carefully noted his withdrawal in her mind. Either he did not know the whole truth himself, or there was something he was not telling her. Either one put her in a troublesome situation._

_"There are five elements we know of for sure," he finally responded. "Earth, Fire, Water, Light, and Wind. Although we know they have some part to play in all this, we are really unsure as to what that part is. Most of what is happening is still a huge mystery. I really wish I could tell you more, but that's all I know."_

_Fuu looked away pensively, not knowing what to make of this statement. As Umi watched, she turned over these thoughts in her mind. If the inhabitants did not know what was going on themselves, why did they trust their fate to it? Or was the swordsman lying? _

_Suddenly, Fuu's eyes grew wide with astonishment. She blinked rapidly and began rubbing her eyes as if to make clear she was awake. Puzzled by this behavior, Umi stood stock still until she realized what the other girl was doing._

_Fuu could see her. She was looking straight at her. _

_Ferio had noticed his charge's odd behavior as well. "What are you doing? You feelin' all right?"_

_Fuu's mouth was hanging slightly open now, something most unbecoming. "You don't see her?" she demanded, gesticulating towards the spot where Umi stood. "There's a girl standing right there!"_

_As he looked towards her, Umi realized that Fuu was the only one who could see her in this half-dream. Ferio was looking at her, but he was not seeing her. His eyes stared right through her, as if she were a spider's web, so thin that one could barely distinguish if she was there or not. Reasoning that if she could be seen she could also be heard, she casually said to Fuu, "Hey, so why do _you _think this guy's being so vague? I personally wouldn't put my trust in someone who doesn't give me the whole story."_

_Fuu gasped. Satisfied that this girl could perceive everything she did, Umi walked over to her and stared her straight in the eyes. "This prophecy's definitely got some holes in it. How can these elements he's talking about be disturbed? They're not actual objects you can touch, or it doesn't seem like they are."_

_Fuu seemed to be coming out of her initial shock, a small nervous smile touching her lips. "It's like you're reading my thoughts," she giggled, her voice barely above a whisper. Becoming serious, she replied, "I think that these 'elements' may be manifested in some form, otherwise how could they be disturbed? I think you're right." She smiled kindly. "What are you called?"_

_After hesitating for a brief moment, she answered, "Umi. Umi Ryuuzaki." Glancing apologetically over her shoulder, she explained, "I think I'm dreaming right now. This is really confusing."_

_"I imagine we'll meet again in person very soon," Fuu said, her voice as soft as leaves falling from branches. "If you can find your way back next time you dream, I'll try and extend our talk. But, if I'm not mistaken, you're about to wake up now."_

_ Frowning, Umi looked at her hands and noticed that they were slowly fading. Her vision began to blur and the background seemed to become out of focus and fuzzy. Crying out to her only tie to this dream world, she felt herself begin to come back into full consciousness. Once again, she felt as though she were drowning, suffocating under tumultuous waves with no air to be found. She was drowning…drowning…_

_Help me…Help me…Help…_

_"…mi. Umi. Umi!"_

Ascot's voice called her back into the waking world. As his face became clear, she began to gasp and cough, trying to spit out the water she felt she must surely have swallowed. Nothing came out. After taking a few deep inhales, she quickly regained her composure. "I'm okay," she reassured him, hands to her brow. She was in cold sweat.

That does it, she thought. I never want to do that again!

But if it meant seeing that ocean one more time…

She noticed that Ascot had returned to his seat at the head of his beast. He had taken her demand for solitude seriously. Beginning to regret her previous actions, she began to very carefully rock back and forth slightly, her knees to her chest. The claws of loneliness gripped her once again. This was worse than drowning.

"Ascot…"

The young boy turned around to meet Umi's solid blue eyes, as deep as the ocean. "What…what's Cephiro like?"

Relief flooded Ascot after hearing this question. "Well," he started nervously, "We used to be in ruins, you know, after the attack happened. After finding our hiding place, we tried to rebuild it as best as we could, but it never really matched the splendor of our old city. On a good day though, the countryside surrounding the city is amazing. There are endless fields of the greenest grass you've ever seen, and it never dries out. Master Guru Clef spelled it so that it would never age. And there are the most beautiful trees. They bear all kinds of fruit: apples, peaches, oranges…there's even this one tree that grows these things that look sort of like bananas, but when you peel them they're filled with this light blue creamy stuff. It tastes really good with fish, we haven't the slightest clue why…Oh! And then there's the ocean…"

Umi's eyes opened wide. The sea breeze hitting her face, the salty smell, the crash of the waves that made her heart race… "You're…near a sea?" she whispered.

Ascot nodded dreamily. "Yeah…there's a cliff near my living quarters that looks out over it. On a starry night…when the moon is in just the right place…the ocean glitters like a cache of pearls. It's like the moon is a beautiful woman and the ocean is a dress covered in sequins. The light bounces off your eyes, and you don't even mind because you're so enamored by its beauty…"

He suddenly broke off, embarrassment creeping into his voice. "I-I mean it looks nice. I don't want to bore you…"

"You're not!" Umi exclaimed suddenly, her eyes shining from the memory of her dream. "Please…If I'm going to be going to this place, I'd better hear about it!"

Ascot scrutinized her sudden change of attitude. "You got over that overwhelming experience quickly, didn't you? You still don't know what you'll be expected to do."

"I'll think about that later," she said quickly. "Keep going. You can tell me about all the other stuff afterwards."

Later, after they had stopped flying to rest, Umi pondered over her situation. She still felt like she was being childish about this new turn of events in her life. If anything, that dream experience had made her more confused than ever. Mysteries within mysteries, she thought sleepily and prepared for slumber.

She was nearly asleep when she heard a soft clumping sound not far from her head. A clink of metal on metal made itself known to the aware part of her mind. Her eyes flashing open, Umi scrambled to her feet to stare face to face with a dark cloaked figure, holding a shining sliver dagger in one hand.

Fear began to course through Umi's now wide awake mind. She was staring down an assassin!


	5. Mokona

Chapter 5: Mokona

Hikaru sat cross-legged under the bough of a large tree. Her back as straight and taut as an anchor rope, she concentrated on breathing air into her lungs. When she judged her lungs were filled, she slowly exhaled, her gaping mouth like a wind tunnel. Lantis sat and observed her while at the same time waiting for his horse to return. He had sent the beast away to see how far off the trail they were. Their flight from the magically-endowed pursuer had lost them a lot of travel time.

Hikaru frowned. Although her eyes were closed, she could feel the sun on their lids. She blinked rapidly before apologizing to her companion. "I'm sorry, Lantis, I lost it. This isn't a good place: the sun's too bright."

The swordsman sighed wearily. "This spot is as good as any," he replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "There's no telling what could happen when you perform the summoning. This meditation is designed to help you learn to calm your mind. If you cannot perform the act here, what makes you think you will be able to do it in the heat of battle?"

It had been five days since Hikaru had found out her true origins. Since that day, Lantis had insisted in drilling her in meditation exercises in hopes of uncovering her summoner powers. Sadly, nothing had come from them; not predisposed to being able to sit quietly for up to hours at a time, Hikaru had not caught the knack for meditating. Something had always distracted her, and she had never been able to clear her mind as Lantis described.

Of course, there was a lot on her mind to clear. Aside from the meditation, Hikaru and Lantis practiced combat every day. Having no sword of her own, Hikaru was trained in bare-handed fighting. She was getting better every day. After disarming Lantis one time using only her feet, she received a small but genuine grin from the seasoned warrior. "Better," he said lightly before making her repeat the maneuver many times over.

During her rest periods, Hikaru distracted herself by petting and grooming Lantis's horse. She had only really ever been involved in maintaining machines at Autozam, and had only been around animals when near the gardens, as pets were not allowed in most parts of the city. Feeling the horse's soft hide underneath her fingers was like handling velvet and she felt a thrill go through her body whenever the animal looked at her with its watery eyes.

Despite Lantis's protests on the contrary, Hikaru believed that there was genuine intelligence beneath those soulful eyes. At times it even felt like the animal was talking to her. True to her nature, she responded at those times. She felt closer to the horse than she did to its owner.

At night, she dreamed of Eagle. The dreams varied drastically from night to night. In one very surprising night vision, she and her old friend were lovers, and their lips repeatedly met each other as if they were magnetically drawn. Her meditations were at their worst the following day. The visions kept intruding on her mind, making it impossible to clear, and Hikaru could never give an explanation as to why her face was bright red that satisfied Lantis.

However, the following night, she woke up screaming. Her dreams contained a single picture: a blood-stained Eagle with an army at his back, an injured Lantis facing him, a clashing of swords with her in the middle…

All of these dreams felt just like what they were, only dreams. However, some nights she felt as though someone or something was trying to speak to her. Two bubbles of consciousness floated through her head, saying things that she could not comprehend. Like faeries twinkling above a still pond, they touched the surface of her mind, and suddenly it was like she was awake and asleep at the same time. For a brief moment, she could see a person's face.

When she questioned Lantis about these dreams, he only frowned slightly before beginning her lessons once again. Hikaru's patience was tested to the limit during this journey. It seemed to her as if questions were pouring from her mouth like water from a jug, but very few of them were answered and even fewer answered to her satisfaction. She supposed her fellow summoners must have been feeling frustration as well, but she could not ask them.

A good amount of her time was spent wondering what the other two summoners were like. With the prince of Autozam as her best friend during her childhood, she did not have the opportunity to make friends with others of her sex. Most were too jealous or intimidated to even talk to her. Hikaru could hardly wait to finally arrive at Cephiro so that she could meet her birth sisters.

Unfortunately, at the rate they were going, it felt like it would never happen. But for some reason, it seemed to her that she was still connected to the other girls in some way. The bubbles in her dreams were as real as anything she saw in front of her. And when they touched her consciousness, she felt strong emotions deep within her, like a roaring wind, or the crashing waves.

One more faerie-like orb was present in her dreams: a bright red light which hovered very close to her. When she held it in her hands, her body filled with a wild heat that engulfed her senses in fire. She always awoke with her body in tremors, her heart pounding like a drum.

This faerie represented her. She was sure of that. Perhaps the other two were…?

Suddenly, Hikaru yawned. The light was making her sleepy and she did not feel like sitting still for much longer. She expected Lantis to berate her for breaking form, but instead the warrior focused his attention towards the sky.

Hikaru whipped her head around and saw a dark shape approaching them from the air. Thinking for a minute that the figure was their pursuer, she nearly panicked until she noticed that it was flying rather unsteadily, almost as fragile as a newborn bird in flight. It came closer and Hikaru recognized it as her protector's steed. It was wounded, a long bloody scar coursing down the far side of its flank.

His eyes wide with shock, Lantis sprung to his feet and hurried to attend to his horse as it landed. When its hooves touched the ground, it stumbled slightly and almost collapsed. Blood spiraled down its hind legs, like handles on some macabre banister, and the beast groaned in agony. For a moment, Hikaru winced as she seemed to feel the horse's pain inside her.

Lantis tried to sooth the stallion, but it would not be calmed. It began to rage like a tempest, thrashing every which way. Blood spattered the ground and the horse continued to utter its low, agonizing sounds. When Lantis finally forced it still with his strong hands, it fixed its gaze to meet Hikaru's eyes and gasped out harshly one more defiant breath.

Suddenly, Hikaru gasped, then swayed slightly on her feet and fell to her knees. As the ground rushed up to meet her, a whirlwind of information entered her mind, all jumbled up and making little sense. Her brain seemed to scream at her, and she echoed those screams as she writhed on the ground. One thought pushed through the storm and nagged her: this must be what it is like to go mad. She was not actually feeling any pain, but it felt as though her head would soon explode.

Then, as if by magic, the chaos ceased. Her mind reordered itself quickly and efficiently and the painless but insistent throbbing in her head slowed and eventually receded. Looking back on the experience later, Hikaru compared it to an accident in the Autozam central maintenance room. It was as if the lights in her head had burnt out and everything in it fell down several flights of stairs before someone found the emergency switch to restore power.

Hikaru's eyes snapped open and she realized she was breathing heavily. Lantis knelt beside her, his normally expressionless eyes tinged slightly with silent concern. Her face slightly flushed, she sat up, amazed at the clarity of mind she was experiencing at that moment. One second before, she would not have been able to tell Lantis her own name, but now she knew exactly what to say.

"He says," she told Lantis, confusion and worry in her eyes as she spoke, "that something is being attacked by…wolves of some sort…about two miles away. It's hiding now, but if we want to save it, we should hurry. He tried to drive them off, but the wolves rushed him."

The swordsman's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Rushed who?"

"Your horse," Hikaru gasped. "When he was in pain, he was trying to speak to me, and at first I couldn't understand him, but…" She touched her head thoughtfully. "I think…my brain rearranged itself or something. He's speaking like a horse, but I can understand every word."

"The horse spoke to you."

It was not a question. "Yes," she replied meekly. "I guess it sounds sort of crazy, but I'm telling the truth." Defiance shone in her eyes as she met Lantis's own. "I'm not crazy," she said with complete certainty.

After a brief silence, Lantis nodded and smiled softly. "I was wondering when this would happen. Along with your summoning skills, you've inherited powers from your ancestors. Your birth father was an animal-speaker, unique to Cephiro. The other two summoners are the same way."

"They can talk to animals too?"

"No, they have different skills. Anyways, as to what you've said," Lantis began, his face growing serious once more, "I'm afraid it's out of the question. We've already deviated too far off the trail, and if we stop to help every random creature within a five mile radius, we'll never reach Cephiro."

"But…" Hikaru began, feeling extremely uneasy. Her instinct told her to go and help whatever was being attacked while the rational side of her mind told her that the swordsman was right; they had no time. "We can't just leave it!" she continued to protest.

"Really…how do you suppose we are to get there?" he argued. His voice was not harsh, but it carried weight. "My mount is wounded. It cannot run, certainly not with the two of us riding it. And even if by some miracle we managed to make it to the spot without collapsing, it would probably be too late for the creature. The wolves are most likely finishing it off right now. We would merely make ourselves a light snack for them."

Hikaru could not believe her ears. "But…" The swordsman just looked impassively back at her, his eyes devoid of any hint of emotion. He was not saying these things to be cruel, she knew that; it was common sense. The odds were against them. But something inside her rebelled at the thought of not aiding a creature in need.

"I can't just sit back and do nothing!" Her eyes blazed with an inner fire. "I know it's futile, I know we might accomplish nothing, but…" She shook her head violently. "I want to help! I want to at least try!"

Lantis did not move, or make any sign of having heard her. Getting desperate, Hikaru suddenly clapped her hands together. Then, she clasped her hands so that only her two forefingers were still outstretched.

This movement made the swordsman pay attention. Hikaru had formed the _kinsha_: the hand sign used along with a brief incantation to summon minor beasts from the realm beyond. "You haven't the training," he cautioned.

Only spurred on by this comment, Hikaru grinned recklessly at her companion. "Just watch me."

Whispering softly into her hands, Hikaru started the chant and began to feel the effects of the summoning. It was all going just as Lantis had described it: the feeling of not quite being attached to the ground anymore, the now glowing outlines of everything around her. Her senses were heightened, and although she was tempted to break concentration to see things more closely, she continued weaving the spell around her. The symbol of the inscribed star formed around her, as if spun out of golden threads by an invisible weaver.

Finally, she barked out the final syllable of the spell and the ground seemed to fall away from beneath her feet. Her bright crimson aura shot up into the air and every inch of her strained to stay on the ground. Nearly blinded by the squalling wind she had created, Hikaru kept her eyes shut tight, eager to end the summoning. All that she could feel was the noise around her and the force of her magic.

Then, slowly, her power seeped away. The engraved symbol at her feet erased itself as she fell on her knees. She instantly regretted attempting such a stunt; the effort had drained her completely. After a brief moment of silence, she opened her eyes to see what she had created.

What she saw was a bit of a shock.

Standing at about a foot tall was the roundest, whitest thing Hikaru had ever seen. It was like an overly large marshmallow, bouncy and fluffy. Upon closer inspection, Hikaru found that it had limbs, two tiny forepaws and two elongated, floppy hind legs. It had furry ears, which when put end to end were longer than its whole body. Unlike most summoning beasts, it had hardly any decoration, only a bright and gleaming red jewel on what passed as its forehead. There was almost no way to discern its head from its body; it only had a top half and a bottom half. Its eyes were closed, and its seemingly peaceful and simple expression was accentuated by a smirk, as if the creature had a secret to keep.

Hikaru's face fell. When she envisioned what might come as a result of her summoning, she thought of a bird, or perhaps a horse like the one Lantis rode. Instead, she got a rabbit, and a small one at that. Slowly standing up, Hikaru took a deep steadying breath and moved slowly towards the creature. She gave it a shaky smile and said softly, "Hello…I'm Hikaru. I called you here…"

The creature cocked what passed for its head slightly to the side, still smiling broadly. Then, before Hikaru could continue to speak, it drew itself up to its full height, took a deep breath, and spoke one word:

"PUUU!"

With that, it settled back down again and continued to stare and smile.

Hikaru wished she were dead!

Lantis raised his eyebrows ponderously as he stared at the fluffy being. Hikaru wished he would just laugh and get it over with; the experience was humiliating. After a brief silence, which seemed like an eternity to the summoner, he finally spoke. "How will this…creature…help us accomplish what you want?"

Completely at a loss for words, Hikaru proceeded to mouth silently at her protector. "Well…" she finally managed to choke out, "maybe…it's got some secret powers? Here, I'll…try and get it to…" She cleared her throat abruptly and turned towards the rabbit. "Um…there's something in trouble close to here, but we can't get there. Do you think…you could help us?" she asked lamely, instantly regretting it as Lantis looked heavenward.

After a brief moment's pause the creature nodded expressively, startling Hikaru to no end. Then, it suddenly turned around to face a wide open space. Inhaling sharply, Hikaru watched with awe as the red jewel on its forehead began to glow with white hot energy. When it seemed like the gem could not hold any more light, it opened the energy outward and it poured out onto the ground like a fireworks display of color. Hikaru was momentarily blinded by the exhibit and when she could finally make out what now stood in front of her, her eyes widened with shock.

What had once been a quiet open plain was now dominated by a large structure, one of which the likes Hikaru had not seen since leaving Autozam. Resembling the bottom half of a sphere, it was roughly a fourth of the size of most full-sized mecha, but that was not what made it impressive. It was magnificently decorated, marble-encrusted with a smooth stone summit. However, the things that made the craft really stand out were the two gossamer-looking wings set on either side of its body. While the wings looked delicate, they glittered with magical residue, assuring Hikaru that it was perfectly capable for carrying their weight.

It was a flying craft. Hikaru had never seen one that was not made by Autozamian engineers and thought that the design on the one before her was much cuter. More importantly, it was what they needed.

Eagerly grabbing Lantis's hand, Hikaru pulled him and gently nudged the horse towards the direction of the vessel. Once aboard, Hikaru realized that she was completely at a loss as to how to work it. Lantis easily solved the problem for her. "I don't know how the creature did it," he said quickly, "but this is a Cephiran model. You will it to move. As long as you know where you are going, it will take you there." A slight smile came to his face. "Come to think of it, this vessel could help us in the long run. We can use it to continue our journey," he added optimistically. Perhaps the summoning was not a total loss after all.

Hurriedly, Hikaru put one hand on the craft and the other on Lantis's horse. She did not know the way, but she was sure the horse did. Concentrating hard on the horse's description of where they had to go, she tried not to show her surprise when their transport began to slowly lift itself off the ground. She gritted her teeth as they began to move north, towards the direction of whatever was in trouble, if it was still alive.

When she was sure the vehicle would continue without her directing it, the redhead slumped backwards from exhaustion. "You'll have to do everything once we get there, Lantis," she said wearily. "I'm too tired."

"I understand," said the warrior, and Hikaru could tell he meant it. "You did well. You should rest now."

As Hikaru began to drift off, she noticed the rabbit standing next to her head. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "You're going to need a name. It's obvious that you aren't going away, and we can't just call you 'creature' all the time." She smiled winningly at the white ball of fluff. "What do you think?"

Cocking its head once more, the creature let out a soft "pu."

"I know!" she exclaimed. "I'll call you Mokona! That's a good name, don't you think?"

"Where in the world did you get a name like that?" Lantis said curiously.

Blinking, Hikaru tried to explain and then realized that she could not. "I'm not sure. It just…came to me, I guess."

"And it is odd that this beast is not disappearing. With most summoner's products, once they have filled their purpose, they go back into the spirit realm." Lantis frowned and analyzed Mokona. "Why does this one remain here?"

As the warrior and his charge pondered, Mokona merely continued to grin. "Pu!" it said happily as the craft continued on through the clouds.

* * *

"Your Highness, I believe we've found her!" 

Eagle Vision of Autozam snapped out of his reverie and joined Zazu at his station. "Are you sure?"

"Would I lie about this?" Zazu snapped irritably. "I'm positive, it's Hikaru!"

After Hikaru's sudden disappearance five days earlier, Eagle had sent out a search warrant to his people, suspecting a possible kidnapping. They were in the middle of a war with Fahren, and although Lady Aska put up a polite front during their war councils, he would not put it past her to abduct one of his own, especially someone close to him. Predictably, the inner city search provided no conclusive results, so he appointed Zazu with the task of tracking her down by analyzing engine activity from any nearby ships.

He never actually thought that this method would prove successful.

The prince's dark eyes scanned the screen in front of him as Zazu explained how he had found the missing girl. "There have been plenty of ships in the area in the last few days, but most of them were trade ships. I checked them just to be safe, of course, but there wasn't anything that looked remotely like Hikaru on them. Then, just now, this popped up." He pointed at the screen. "A small craft just began to give out signals a few moments ago. It's headed north-east. I didn't think it was her at first, since it's way too close to Autozam, but when I looked closer, I could see her on board!"

Eagle's eyes narrowed. "Wait…it just began giving out signals? Why didn't you find it sooner?"

"That's the strange thing about it, Eagle. There aren't any signs that it traveled anywhere before now. It's like it just sprang up out of nowhere. And she couldn't have built it either, because it's a very complex craft, magical and everything. Take a look."

A visual appeared on the screen and Eagle drew in a sharp breath. There was Hikaru, seated on a flying machine with two animals and a dark, broad-shouldered man. Looking closely at the man, he could not make out much detail. However, he did not look like he was from Fahren.

"It's weird," Zazu continued thoughtfully. "I've never seen this kind of machine before, not even in books. It's the best integration of magic and science that I've seen in a while. But how could they build it if there are not materials? And," he said, frowning, "there's no steering wheel, or control panel, or anything else. How are they flying it?"

Eagle was no longer paying attention to his attendant, rather tracing the design on the ship with his fingers. The strings of memory were starting to twang in the back of his mind. He had seen this sort of ship somewhere before. But where?

Suddenly, insight hit him like a baseball bat.

"Zazu," he barked suddenly, his voice loud and imperious.

Startled, Zazu accidentally hit the control panel and shut off the screen. "Y-yes?" he stammered. He did not like it when Eagle acted this way, completely different from his usual self.

"Have Geo ready my FTO," Eagle ordered. "We're going to track that ship."

Zazu's heart started to pound, and his head buzzed with the implications of what Eagle was saying. By going after Hikaru, he was broadcasting a weakness to anybody who might go against them. Their army would be without a general and the intelligence center would have to go to the second in command who, in Zazu's opinion, had skills far beneath his own.

However, he recalled the day when Eagle confided in him and told him where Hikaru had come from and how she had come to Autozam. If anybody besides those from Fahren were kidnapping her, there could be dire consequences, for both her and their country.

Finally, coming to a decision, Zazu nodded. "Right, sir. I'll make sure Geo works on your ship ASAP." His eyes twinkled with anticipation and excitement.

After all, putting all of the other reasons aside, Hikaru was close to all of them.

This was personal now.

* * *

AN: Comments? Questions? Constructive Critisism? Please review this story! Any feedback is appriciated. 


	6. The Dancer and the Fairy

Chapter 6: The Dancer and the Fairy

Her eyes wide and her mind reeling, Umi stared at the cloaked figure standing before her. Between the stifling darkness and the dusky shroud the other was wearing, Umi could not distinguish much about the strange being. However, she could tell that this person was of Chizetan stock from the cloak's skin-hugging material and the figure's sun browned arms. She, for the figure was a woman, had one slender hand protectively over her ample chest while the other hand gripped a Chizetan scimitar at her waist. She was also in a defensive stance, something that Umi did not find strange until thinking upon the incident later.

Without thinking about how to best handle the situation, Umi grabbed the knife that Caldina had given her and charged towards the mysterious woman. The stranger quickly parried Umi's strike and countered with a round swipe to Umi's head, which the summoner successfully blocked. Then, Umi grabbed her opponent's arm and quickly pressed the knife blade against her throat. Confident that she now held the upper hand, Umi slowly released the woman's arm.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of silver was thrust into Umi's face. Stumbling back out of surprise, the summoner frantically tried to regain her focus. Like an acrobat, the mystery woman had bent over backwards and kicked her slender legs into the air, startling Umi out of her complacency. Attatched to the woman's ankle was a hidden knife, small enough to be kept out of sight but sharp enough to cut. Umi had dodged just in time.

The stranger was not finished. Without warning, she suddenly flipped onto all fours and pulled out a long knotted rope. She used it like a lasso to snare Umi's foot and pulled her down. As Umi fell to the ground, the stranger took away her knife and thrust it into her belt. Umi shut her eyes tightly and was preparing herself for the killing blow when the stranger spoke to her in a very familiar voice.

"Wow, looks like you've been taking good care of this old relic. You put up a great fight, but you should remember to, like, check to see if the other person wants to hurt you first."

Umi's eyes snapped open and she stared disbelievingly at the cloaked figure, now silhouetted against the moonlight. Chuckling slightly, the woman slowly removed her hood to reveal a mass of long blonde hair. She smiled with perfectly white teeth and said softly, "You were always a bit of a hothead, Umi."

Umi was struck dumb with shock. Standing in front of her was someone she was convinced she would never see again, the only person in the world she could call a friend. Tears began to form in her deep blue eyes as she ran over and hugged Caldina, the dancer from Chizeta, tightly around her shoulders. Before she could stop herself, she wept like a child, aware that she had fought Caldina with the intention of killing her. Caldina let her cry, occasionally making soothing noises and patting her on the back, almost like the mother Umi never had.

Standing on the sidelines was an extremely confused Ascot. As Umi babbled out apologies through her tears, the trainee magician simply peered through the darkness at the scene before him. He had witnessed the entire thing, from the first swipe of the sword to the revealing finish, and thought that Umi had performed admirably until she realized who her opponent was. She had transformed from a raging wildcat into a helpless kitten in the span of two minutes.

Something about the way she reacted to the blonde newcomer did not sit well with Ascot. He did not know what this woman represented to Umi, but she was from Chizeta and therefore to be considered an enemy. From what he had learned from his teachers, Ascot assumed that Chizeta was like a rat hole in the land of Pilaria, a festering hideout for thieves and murderers. Normally, he would have thought it would be easy for Umi to distance herself from a place like that. This woman threw a wrench in his assumptions.

What was she even doing there in the first place?

Ascot decided it was time to make his presence known. Taking a deep steadying breath he stepped forward, unexpectedly tripped on a tree root, and flopped down onto the ground as awkwardly as the fish he rode.

Umi whipped her head around like a caged animal, immediately halting her embrace with Caldina. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she spied Ascot nursing his wounds from the fall. "What the hell are you doing?" she snapped at the hapless young man.

Ascot winced; it was going to take a while for him to get used to Umi's mood swings. "Nothing. I tripped," he replied honestly.

"Were you spying on me while I was sleeping?" Umi asked, horrified by the prospect. "You pervert!"

"No!" Ascot hastily said, "I swear, I just heard the noise and came to see what was going on!" Why was Umi suddenly so angry?

Umi closed her eyes; she could feel rage building up inside her like magma. It would not do to explode in front of Caldina. She took a deep shuddering breath and realized with disgust that she still had tears in her eyes. As she hastily wiped them away, she failed to notice the look of comprehension in Ascot's eyes. "Caldina," she began, her voice still quivering like jelly, "this is Ascot. He's the one who kidnapped me."

"It's hardly kidnapping," Ascot protested mildly. "After all, you came along willingly."

Caldina suddenly gasped. "Right! Everyone's saying you ran away to escape arrest. Did you?" she asked, curiosity lurking in her bright eyes.

"I'll tell you about it later," Umi said dismissively. A thought suddenly struck the young summoner and her heart sank. "I suppose you're here to take me back," she whispered, voicing her fears. She was right to strike at her friend after all…

Shaking her head, Caldina assured Umi, "Like, don't worry, I wouldn't do something that low. Actually…" The dancer hesitated for a split second before gathering her strength and barreling ahead. "I wanted to find you to confirm the rumors and then…I wanted to come with you."

All Umi could do was blink in response. "You…what?" she eventually said. "Why?"

"Because otherwise I'll be worried sick about you, silly!" Caldina said in a bubbly voice.

"What kind of reason is that?" Umi asked, slightly put off by her friend's cheerful demeanor. Caldina normally acted like this, going off on a whim like a feather swayed by the slightest breeze. But this was a rash decision, even for her.

Suddenly, Umi caught a glimpse of something in Caldina's eyes, a tinge of sadness that contaminated her happy façade. Something had happened, she realized, something she did not want to tell Umi about.

What could possibly want to make Caldina leave Chizeta, leave her home?

"You can't come with us," Ascot suddenly said, surprising Umi into losing her train of thought. "The only ones who can see where I am bringing Umi are her and I. Nobody, especially somebody like you, can interfere."

Umi whipped her head violently around to stare Ascot in the eye and was shocked by the level of certainty she saw there. This was the strongest she had seen him since they had met. The boy had finally found something to be confident about. However, his conviction did not stop Umi from running him down. "What do you mean? She's my friend, and I trust her! Why can't she come with us?"

"She's from Chizeta," Ascot spat, glaring at Caldina with contempt in his eyes. "Out of all the people you should watch out for, she automatically rises to the top of the list! Do you have any idea what you might be risking by bringing her with us?"

"No," Umi said dangerously, "Because you haven't told me anything! I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing, I have no clue why you need me to do it, and I especially don't know why you refuse to give me any information! I trust her more than I trust you!"

For some reason, that last comment hurt Ascot more than anything Umi had said so far. Like sand from a sieve, his confidence slowly slipped away from him. Umi could sense the change and was confused by his loss of will. Wasn't it natural to trust someone she had known her entire life more than someone she had just met? It did not matter that they shared a homeland; he was still a stranger to her.

Ascot continued to glare at Caldina, who blinked bemusedly back at him. Convinced that the dancer had learned nothing from the conversation, he turned and called over his shoulder, "Fine. If that's how you feel, she can stay. But if she doesn't prove trustworthy, I will leave her behind, no matter where we are."

Umi could do nothing but watch Ascot vanish into the brush, still puzzled by how quickly he caved in. Dismissing the odd magician from her mind, she turned to Caldina with a strained smile on her face. "Now tell me why you really came after me," she said gently.

Caldina blinked. "Like, I don't know what you mean. I told you—"

"What you told me was crap," Umi said coldly, her voice raised almost to a yell. "I know you, and I can tell when you're lying." Her eyes darted swiftly to the cloak that Caldina still had wrapped around her. It was a hot night, and Caldina looked very uncomfortable. But still, she clung to the cloak like a child's security blanket. "Take that off," Umi commanded, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Oh, I really don't mind wearing this, I'm used to the heat, and—"

"I said take it off!" Umi shouted, surprised at her own insistence. A streak of doubt appeared in her mind. If she was right about why her friend was covered as she was, she would never forgive herself.

Reluctantly, Caldina obeyed and dropped her shroud to reveal regular Chizetan dress. However, it was not what she was wearing but what the clothes did not cover that interested Umi. Her suspicions were confirmed. Dotted all over Caldina's body, especially around her waist, were black and blue marks, bruises the size of cherry tomatoes. The dancer hastily tried to cover them with her slender hands, but failed to realize that her wrists were bruised as well. Umi's wide eyes scanned her body and rested on the girl's knees, which were buckled slightly under her own weight.

"He came after you…didn't he?" Umi finally forced out, horrified by the sight of Caldina, who had clearly been pounded like a slab of meat. "That man from the baths…he came after you, after you stopped him from hurting me!"

Caldina tried her best to stand up straight, but could not keep the pain from her face. "It wasn't like that, Umi…he could have forced himself on any girl…"

"But he went after you!" the summoner cried, anger and grief building in her voice. "And why don't you call it what it is? He RAPED you!" She said the word with such a tone of finality that Caldina found it hard to protest. Her silence affected Umi more than any words could have. "Why didn't you turn him in? Why did you let him go? Why didn't you stop him before he did this to you?"

Caldina merely stared blankly at Umi, a complete contrast to Umi's passion and fervor. She did not understand, Umi realized distantly. The dancer was not thinking about what this meant to Umi, as a friend. Because of Umi's helplessness, Caldina had been violated in ways the summoner did not want to imagine. She should have been there to protect her. She should have been able to do something, anything to stop this feeling of guilt now rushing through her.

And Ascot dared to tell her that she had power! She had nothing! How could she save a city if she could not even save someone close to her?

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Umi said brokenly, tears now streaming openly down her face. Life sadly crept into Caldina's eyes as she watched the girl weep with the knowledge she was weeping for her. Taking a deep breath in order to stifle the pain in her sides, she straightened up and stared as directly as she could into Umi's glistening orbs.

"Please don't tell your Ascot about this," she said.

"I promise," Umi whispered reluctantly, noting the hesitation in Caldina's stance.

Caldina bit her lower lip until blood flowed as she tried to find the strength to reveal her fears. "Twins run in my family, Umi," she finally stuttered. "I had to get out. If I'd had stayed, there would have been no future for me. I thought I'd take my chances by trying to find you. I knew that you'd help me once you found out."

"Found out what, Caldina?" Umi urged, desperation creeping into her voice. "What are you talking about?"

Caldina had the look of one who was about to faint dead away. She began to sway on her feet and her breathing gradually grew heavier. The reality of her situation had not fully hit her until that moment, and now she was becoming like a panicked animal, skittish and frail. However, she had the presence of mind to steady herself as she finally told all.

What she said next numbed Umi's mind with shock.

"I checked with a midwife and a card reader, Umi. I'm carrying that bastard's baby." She resumed her defeated sense of calm once more and repeated the horrifying statement. "I'm pregnant."

The river of tears continued to flow.

* * *

Ascot angrily tossed rocks into the nearby river and watched the ripples they created spread and then disappear into nothingness. His eyes were cold with distant realization, focused only on the memory of what had transpired.

He was so ashamed. Why shouldn't he be? He had failed to establish any authority over Umi, hoping that the promise of showing the girl her homeland would be enough to make her listen to him. But Umi was as strong as Guru Clef had told him, maybe even stronger. If she wanted to, she could run away with her friend and leave him and he would be powerless to stop her. If she didn't trust him, he had no real control at all.

He had a duty: to bring Umi, the child of water, to the lost city and fulfill the prophecy. He did not know the details; that wasn't his job. Guru Clef was the one with the information, not him. He couldn't tell Umi anything even if he wanted to.

That being said, why did he feel like the bad guy?

"Guru Clef," he whispered, feeling the picture of despair. "I don't know what to do. I don't know why you chose me for this…I'm just a kid. Why would you assign me, a mid-level magician, as a bodyguard? I'm not like Lantis or Ferio. They're warriors, with strong hearts and minds." He hung his head pathetically. "I'm weak. If something happens…I won't be able to protect her."

_You are the only one who can bring the water child to Cephiro, _Clef had told Ascot before he began his journey. _You have something the others do not. You can heal her._

"What is it?" Ascot muttered sadly. "Why does she need to be healed?"

And how can I heal her, he thought, if she won't even admit that she is broken?

* * *

"I think we're almost there, Lantis."

The craft which Hikaru and Lantis rode had been jetting through the air for only five minutes, and already they had left their starting point well behind them. It was a well built ship, agile and light, which excited Hikaru to no end. Mokona was truly a beast after her own heart. She was only too glad to let Mokona stay, although she knew she would have to protect him from Lantis. The tiny rabbit was clinging to the swordsman's shoulder like a limpet, blissfully unaware that Lantis was shaking with silent rage.

"That's good," Lantis replied as he carefully pried Mokona off of him. "Maybe we can get back to the more serious part of our journey after this."

Hikaru laughed uneasily. No matter how much Lantis tried to extricate Mokona, the rabbit stuck to him like glue. She decided not to pursue the matter much further and changed the subject. "What do you think we'll find at this place? What kind of creature is in trouble?"

"Who knows?" the swordsman answered irritably. "It can't be particularly tough, or we wouldn't need to come to its rescue."

Hikaru winced. Was he still angry? "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know we're already off-course, but—"

"I know," he interrupted gently and glanced back at the red-haired summoner. "You already made your reasons quite plain. At least we are heading in somewhat the right direction."

Hikaru fell into an anxious silence and felt the wind ruffle her hair. Finally, she gathered the courage to speak again, knowing that her next question would not be easily answered. "Lantis…where is Cephiro?"

"Cephiro is everywhere," Lantis said mysteriously. "Cephiro is nowhere. It is inside your heart and mine. Wherever there is hope, there is Cephiro."

Hikaru sighed. "That was beautiful…but I meant more where it is on the map."

"I know," said the swordsman with an enigmatic smile. "But if I'm right, we're being followed. Save your questions for when we arrive."

Suddenly, Lantis' horse began to whinny and stamp. It tried to stand and, in the process, nearly tipped over the light craft before Hikaru managed to calm it down. As she made soothing noises into the beast's ear, Lantis drew his crystal sword from his sheath and peered into the distance. "I see something," he said. "Stop the ship."

"How do I do that?"

"Think the word 'stop'. Hard."

Hikaru obeyed, and was startled to find that it worked. Their ride stopped with a jerk and nearly flung Hikaru over the edge.

What a spectacular place Cephiro must be, she thought as she clung to the rim of the craft. A place where everything is controlled by will…

As Lantis touched onto the ground, with a stumbling Hikaru close behind him, he immediately glimpsed a pack of wolves gathered in the near distance. Like sharks milling about near a kill, they circled a tree stump hungrily, teeth gnashing and hackles raised. However, Lantis noticed something odd about their movements; they stayed a respectable distance from the stump, which (dare he believe it) glowed brightly with a neon green light.

One wolf wiggled its haunches and then, like the release of a coiled spring, leaped at the sphere of light. Soon enough, the swordsman realized why the animals were so wary of their prey. No sooner than the wolf had reached the stump, a blinding flash erupted from the space around it and thrust the beast onto the ground with an invisible force. Whimpering, the wolf picked itself up and rejoined the circle with its snarling comrades.

_There is no doubt about it_, Lantis thought grimly. _Whatever they're stalking has at least a bit of magic. But it cannot hold out forever._ He thought he had seen the light fade just a bit after the wolf's attack. If enough of them pounced at once, he reasoned, the shield would break. It was only a matter of time before beasts figured it out. They may have been brutes, but they were not stupid.

"Stand back," he ordered Hikaru, who reluctantly obeyed. A determined look had come into the swordsman's eyes and she knew it would do her no good to argue. She watched with awed curiosity as Lantis held his sword, the razor-sharp point facing upwards, in front of his face. Closing his eyes, he chanted a series of mumbled phrases that Hikaru could not decipher. His aura, an electric yellow mist, began to swirl about him and then flowed from his stiff body into his sword. With a final shout, he thrust the weapon into the ground, blade first, and several bolts of lightning fled from it like stampeding horses. The brilliant electric currents turned the snarling wolves into frightened dogs and, yelping, they fled the clearing, leaving the small figure on the stump to Lantis.

Hikaru reached the stump first, as Lantis was taking a moment to make sure that no more enemies were nearby. Her heart was still pounding with excitement at what she had just seen. She had been too frightened to pay attention at the time, but she had seen Lantis perform magic before as they were fleeing from the cloaked figures the week earlier. She was happy that she had a protector who could handle anything that would come their way, but a creeping vine of apprehensiveness coiled inside her mind.

Was she really important enough to be guarded by such a powerful man?

A small groan drew Hikaru's attention back towards the stump. Upon it was a tiny person, small enough to be able to sit in the palm of Hikaru's hand. She was dressed in a small green tunic and a skirt of the same forest shade. She had almost fiery red hair, only slightly darker than Hikaru's own tresses, and the summoner thought that if she were a full-sized person that she would be quite pretty. As it was, Hikaru could only notice her diminutiveness.

The tiny young woman groaned and sat up, shaking herself into full consciousness; it seemed as though she had nearly passed out from the strain of keeping her force field active. As she stretched, a pair of gossamer wings on her back fluttered prettily and caught Hikaru's attention.

A fairy! Hikaru beamed at the tiny figure. She had only ever heard about fairies in legend! What was one doing in the middle of the woods?

After a final yawn, the fairy opened her eyes wide and stared up at Hikaru's hovering face. She let out a fearsome shriek and Hikaru quickly covered her ears from the noise. "What are you?" the fairy yelped, now testing her wings and trying to get herself into the air. "Did you send those wolves? I bet you did! You're a horrible, terrible person! Can't you tell that I'm delicate?"

"No, please…um, fairy…I just…"

"And now you're making fun of me! I'll let you know that I'm a very important person, thank you very much!" The fairy drew herself up to full height, which was not very tall. She seemed to have most of her strength back. "I'm the one and only intelligence coordinator of—"

"What is that infernal racket?" Lantis suddenly called out, tramping over to the stump. He looked down at the fairy, who had ceased her tirade to gaze wondrously up at him. His eyes suddenly grew wide, and Hikaru could have sworn that his face had grown a little pale.

"Primela?" he said disbelievingly. "How did you get out here?"

The fairy did not answer right away. Then, after a moment of stillness, her eyes began to tear up and she flew into the air and flung herself onto the swordsman's neck. "Lantiiiis! I'd hoped and hoped that you would come and find me! It was such a stupid thing for me to hope, but I did, and you came! I was so scared I would get eaten by wolves!" She continued to cry for a few minutes, holding tightly onto Lantis' neck as far around as she could reach.

Hikaru stared in utter amazement as Primela fawned girlishly over her protector. She knew that there had to be a story behind this. "Um…" she interrupted as Primela blew her nose on Lantis' cape, "What's going on?"

Very suddenly, Primela quit her antics and glared at Hikaru. She flew off of the swordsman and into Hikaru's surprised looking face. Jabbing her finger forward threateningly, she began to rant anew. "Who is this? Lantis, how could you be cheating on me? And with such an ugly girl! Listen up, miss whoever-you-are!" she continued as Lantis sighed heavily behind her, "Lantis belongs to me, and if you have something to say about it, then—"

"This is Primela," Lantis interjected before the fairy could get much further. "She is Cephiro's head spy. She was the one who found out for Guru Clef where you and your birth-sisters were. However," he said, turning his attention back to the hovering Primela, "at the moment she should have no assignments and, as such, should be staying out of trouble _back at the city_."

Primela began to pouted, folding her arms stubbornly. "I was, but then Guru Clef gave me a NEW assignment! I was on my way to the Great Library in Fahren to go and find the—"

Suddenly, Lantis grabbed Primela around her tiny waist and squeezed, startling the fairy into erupting into tiny shrieks. Drawing her closely to his face, he said threateningly, "The first rule of a spy is to not reveal their mission to anyone not involved. _Anyone_. Do you understand?"

Tears blossomed on Primela's face and, sniffing, she nodded morosely. She chanced a look over at Hikaru, who was frowning uncomfortably some distance away. "I understand," she whispered to Lantis, who released her into the air.

"I suppose you have to travel with us now," he said in a normal tone of voice as she massaged her waist ruefully. "If you managed to get yourself caught in another situation like the one we found you in, there'd be no telling what secrets you might reveal. I would hate to have you lose your position…or your life," he added as an afterthought.

"Then you DO care about me, Lantis! I'm so happy!" Primela resumed her childlike squeals, as if nothing had transpired, while Hikaru slowly followed them back to their waiting craft.

The look in Lantis' eyes had deeply unsettled Hikaru. Before their encounter with Primela, it had been reasonable for her to believe that the swordsman's evasive attitude was out of fear of foreign spies. But now, it seemed undeniable that he was keeping something from her: something crucial.

She put a hand to her chest and squeezed, trying to keep a hold of her bubbling emotions. It was all she could do to trust Lantis. She had to believe that he had no intention of harming her, or else she would be dead by now, perhaps left to those caped figures who seemed to be pursuing them. But questions kept forcing their way into her mind, questions she could not answer.

Who were those mages? And what could Lantis be keeping secret from her about her mission?

* * *

AN: Hi. I'm sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. It took a while longer than I thought to get my thoughts together. I plan to update more frequently, but I hope the less patient of you will please bear with me.

Don't think I'm leaving Fuu out of the story, either. There will be plenty of her in the next chapter.

Questions? Comments? Friendly encouragement? Please, please, PLEASE review!


	7. Arrival at Cephiro

Chapter 7: Arrival at Cephiro

_Fuu was floating again. The familiar misty surroundings that inhabited her dreams began to engulf her, as they did most nights. As she shook her head to clear her mind, her golden curls gently brushed her neck. This always confused her. If she was in a dream, why could she feel things that were happening around her?_

_A second later, she shuddered with joy and hugged her arms closely to her chest; if she stood still long enough, she could feel the wind. The sensation forced an unbidden smile onto her face._

_She slowly opened her eyes, still troubled by the knowledge that her eyes were really closed. Pitch black contaminated her sight, and she searched vainly for variation within her surroundings. Squinting, she could faintly make out a muffled scarlet hue shining through the hazy dark foreground. She turned; she could have sworn she had heard a wave crash nearby. Behind her was a hint of blue, far into the distance. Both strains of color beckoned weakly, like lighthouses off of misty shores._

_Sighing, the young girl urged herself to concentrate. Those lights were important to her. A stubborn thought continued to prod at her mind. What if, that thought said, you could reach those lights? What's standing between you? A bit of fog cannot prevent you from reaching your goal._

_But that was just it. No matter how many times she had tried to run towards the glowing figures, in this dream or in dreams before, the fog would shift and confuse her into losing her way. The lights were always out of reach, but still tantalizingly within sight. As her frustration increased, the fog would seem to grow thicker. Or was she imagining it?_

_But she still had a feeling…_

"Ferio," she said after she had properly awoken, "I dreamt about the mist again last night."

The warrior, who had been shoveling eggs down his throat at that moment, quickly swallowed and shot back, "Was it any clearer this time?"

Fuu morosely shook her head no. "The lights seemed brighter, but the mist hadn't cleared at all."

"You're not trying hard enough." His words seemed harsh, but there was kindness in his voice. Fuu could see a smile hiding behind his eyes. "The first step to developing your powers is to travel inside your own mind. If you can't make sense of the stuff in your own head, there's no way you'd be able to unravel another person's."

"I did hear something new, though!" Fuu exclaimed, remembering her dream and trying to recall its vividness. "In the direction of the blue light, there was a wave crashing…or something like that." She shook her head again in confusion. "I don't remember hearing any sounds before."

"That's good," Ferio said. He waved his gloved hands towards the spread of food lying before him. "Let's not talk about it anymore. Eat. We've got a long day ahead of us, so you'll need to keep up your strength." 

Fuu sighed heavily and, with a renewed sense of concentration, clumsily picked up her fork. She stared ruefully at the silver utensil, an object that she had come to loathe during the weeks of their travels. As a child in Fahren, Fuu had grown up using chopsticks and was finding it unusually difficult to transition between the two methods of eating. She considered heavily the prospect of eating her food with her fingers more than once, but her foster mother had taught her time and time again that only savages touched their food with anything other than their mouths. 

Fuu still blushed at the memory of her first attempt to pierce a hard-boiled egg with her fork. She had underestimated the fork's ability to do its job, and after plunging it into the depths of the egg white found that the tines had come out the other side and squarely hit the plate. A solid looking crack had formed, disturbing the off-white pattern and bringing a tinge of red into Fuu's delicate countenance. 

To Fuu's chagrin, Ferio continued to tease her about the incident every time she even went near a fork. Now she sat, poised and ready with a delicate frown on her face and the fork in her hand.

"You look like you're about to deliver judgment on the poor thing," her companion chuckled as she adjusted her fingers. An unbidden smile appeared on the summoner's pale face, one she quickly tried to hide. Ferio had a way of challenging the Fahren tradition of keeping emotions veiled. Hastily pulling herself together, she slowly began to press the fork into the egg, using the tiniest amount of force possible. 

It wasn't enough. Fuu could not manage to spear the egg. It lolled lazily about on the plate as the girl tried vainly to pin it down, still stubbornly using the fork. 

"Why don't you just pick it up?" Ferio finally exclaimed after several seconds of watching the tragic spectacle. "It's not like it'll bite you."

Fuu's face was now red from frustration and embarrassment. "It is not proper," she whispered, softly so that she was sure the other could not hear her.

To her great surprise, Ferio responded, "Yeah, I've heard about 'Great Fahren sensibility'. But you're traveling with me now, so you can be sure that doesn't apply." He grinned at the stunned look on Fuu's face. "Don't you dare argue. The only reason I'm using a fork is because I brought 'em with me and it'd be stupid not to use 'em if they were just dead weight otherwise. And I'm wearing gloves," he added as an afterthought, holding out his gloved hands in mock daintiness. 

Fuu flashed a shy smile at Ferio's words. "Why are you wearing gloves? You should take them off. Then we can both behave like perfect savages," she said, attempting a teasing reply. A thrill of nervous excitement ran through her body; she would never have dared to speak that way to a man back in Fahren. It felt as though every word she uttered placed her one step closer to freedom from her country's hierarchies and rules, one more step out of her cage.

Fuu stopped smiling. With a clunk of silver on wood, Ferio had put down his fork and a hard steely look came into his eyes. Then, just as suddenly, it disappeared, leaving behind his usual easy-going expression. "Not until you've mastered your mind," he said in a deceptively placid voice, for Fuu could see his hands trembling like windswept leaves. "Now come on," he said as he took to his feet. "We should get going. In a couple more hours, we'll be in Cephiro."

As the swordsman began to tidy up their campground, Fuu stood off to the side and peered at Ferio's busy hands. He had seemed almost frightened when she had suggested taking the gloves off. Why? He had not been wearing them the day they had met in the Empress's chambers.

The day they had met…

A tiny gasp escaped Fuu's lips, and Ferio straightened up to turn and look at her. "Something wrong?" he asked with a frown, noting the blush that was rapidly spreading across Fuu's face.

"Oh…nothing," Fuu stammered and quickly turned away, immediately ashamed of her lie. She had realized now what Ferio was afraid of, remembering the day he touched her face, remembering what she had seen.

_It's my power_, she thought bitterly. _I can see into a person's mind just by touching their skin. _She recalled now that the memory she had glimpsed that day was a bit strange. She had not noticed it at the time, but the scenery seemed faded, like a watercolor painting that had fallen into a river. The memory almost seemed strained, fading in and out of existence in her recollection. Was it because she had no knowledge of what she was doing? 

_Whatever the case, Ferio does not want that happening again_, she determined. _Not unless I learn to control it_. 

_But then, does that mean he's hiding something? _

She finally turned around to see Ferio tending to his birdlike steed. Approaching him like a timid deer, Fuu only made her presence be known by a hesitant clearing of her throat. This noise was enough to make him turn and flash a grin.

"Don't forget to wear the cloak again," he said, picking up a slightly travel-worn cloak from the bag and waving it gingerly in her direction. "Your hair is too recognizable otherwise."

"Right…" Fuu muttered, accepting the proffered object with reluctance. When she wore the cloak, she could not feel the wind gusting through the air. She felt so cut off from everything when her skin was not kissed by the zephyrs whispering by. Telling Ferio, however, seemed a bit too presumptuous…the cloak was for her own protection after all.

A soft sigh lilting from her lips, Fuu drew the hood over her yellow hair and accepted Ferio's outstretched hand as she clambered up his avian steed. 

* * *

"Fuu…Fuu!

The young girl's eyes creaked open, stunned momentarily by the bright orange glow on the horizon. She realized with a jolt that she had fallen asleep some time before, back when the sun was at the peak of its arch through the sky. Blushing, she tried to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. "I'm sorry…I suppose…I did not get much rest last night."

"Don't worry about it," Ferio chuckled. "I just thought you'd like to see this." Responding to Fuu's questioning glance, he pointed a gloved finger towards a silhouette off in the distance, barely larger than an apple but growing with every second they flew towards it.

It was partly obscured by a large mountain, but even then there was no hiding its majestic presence. At first Fuu could only glimpse the very top of the structure, which was plainly adorned with regal white spires. Once their transport had swung around, the rest of the edifice was revealed in shimmering detail. The building itself shone like a beacon, a second sun on the horizon. Directly across from the palace was a grassy knoll, blades of green rolling with the wind, overlooking the blanket of ocean below. However, no matter how peaceful the scene seemed on the surface, Fuu could sense something in the air, a feeling of depression and anger that settled into her being and made her feel heavy. The sadness was apparent; it was as if the building could feel pain, and had been harboring it for years.

Fuu winced; her chest was beginning to ache, like she was being pulled against her will towards the broken city below. "Ferio," she muttered, "what is this place?"

A grim smile appeared on Ferio's face. "That," he replied, "is my home."

Once they landed, the grim sadness around them became even more apparent. The buildings were cracked, as cracked as the dry ground. The still air made Fuu feel uneasy. What kind of place was this if there was no wind blowing?

"Try touching some of the wreckage," Ferio commanded. "Even buildings have memory."

Fuu glanced at a boulder-like shape near her; it looked like it had once been vibrantly colored, but now it was worn and faded. Taking a deep breath, Fuu knelt before it and placed a tender hand on the craggy surface. A rush of power hit her like a crashing wave, and Fuu closed her eyes.

She opened them to a completely different scene. It felt almost like she was drowning in color or trapped inside a rainbow; the colossal buildings surrounding her shone all types of shades. Children laughed and played around her while chatty mothers kept an ever constant watch on them. In the distance, sparks shot into the air; Fuu could see the proud magician that performed in front of a large and appreciative crowd. The streets beneath her were paved with rounded stones, smooth to the touch. However, there was no sound at all. It was like she was caught in the heart of a storm.

She blinked; the bustling city disappeared, replaced by its destroyed counterpart. Her chest began to ache. Now she understood a little why Ferio sometimes seemed so lonely.

"I…I think the memory was too old," she said to the young man standing behind her. "There was something wrong with it…the people were blurry, and I couldn't hear anything."

"Well…it has been eighteen years," Ferio muttered, staring wistfully at his surroundings. "But what you saw is the Cephiro I remember. I was still young when this city was in its prime, but I was old enough to know that it was special, that there was nowhere else like it in the world. And…it all collapsed in less than ten minutes," he said, a sad smile on his face. 

Fuu felt uncomfortable. She did not know what else to do besides ask more questions. "The people…what happened to them?"

"Many died. Those that didn't left, fearing another attack. Most of the people who lived here were just passing through, you see, so they had no reason to stay…no loyalty, or sense of duty to this city. There are still some people living here, but they stay inside mostly. It's been almost two decades of constant fear…"

He turned to look at the startled young girl with fire in his eyes. "You have no idea what you being here means for this country," he said. "When your birth sisters arrive, we may be able to finally restore Cephiro to its former glory…and the age of magic can begin again."

Embarrassed, Fuu did not reply, instead casting her gaze about her surroundings. How could she be destined to save this country? She, who could barely use a fork correctly? It was nonsensical. "Um…" she said, noticing something odd about the landscape, "What is that tower? It looks like the only building that has not been damaged."

Ferio stared at the tower in question. It was a black obelisk, glaring in the sunlight at the desolate wreckage lying far below. If there was a single scratch on it, it was easily hidden by its sheer darkness. "That's the control tower," Ferio replied. "And that's where we're heading. Guru Clef will be waiting for us there."

"Who…is Guru Clef?"

"He's our leader," Ferio said shortly, "and the only one who has been able to help this city since it was broken."

Fuu gulped. Was she really ready to meet such an important person? Ferio was not waiting for her to make up her mind. She followed him and kept close, resisting the urge to hold onto his arm for comfort.

* * *

The inside of the control tower was a work of art. Unlike the dark abysmal outside, the walls were pure light; it almost hurt to look at them. A spiral staircase lined the walls, until they disappeared near the top of the structure. It was far more majestic than the shrines and temples that littered Fahren, even more decorated than Lady Aska's palace. Fuu felt incredibly tiny and frail, afraid to speak in case her voice was swallowed by the expanse. 

"Don't be scared," Ferio said. His voice echoed around the large room. "This is probably the only safe place in the world for you right now."

"Really, Ferio, what are you telling her?" a light voice said from a dark corner. Fuu gasped and turned to face a young man, standing at least a head shorter than she did. He was clothed entirely in white robes, his hair the color of a dusky sunset. His eyes were purple, like amethyst, and, Fuu felt, like the color of magic. In his hands rested a staff of pure marble, engraved with many foreign symbols, an alphabet for mystics. 

He looked so young, Fuu thought. But despite his age, his eyes spoke volumes. They held the weight of many years. She had the feeling she was looking at someone very wise.

"You don't want to frighten her, do you?" the young man said. Although he was smiling, he still seemed very sad to Fuu. 

"I don't think she can afford to feel too safe, do you, Guru?" Ferio replied without a hint of sympathy. He seemed to be standing straighter now that he was away from the destruction outside.

"Guru?" Fuu exclaimed. "You mean…this is…"

"I am Guru Clef," the young man said, bowing his head. "Please, do not be alarmed at my appearance…I am sure Ferio will explain my circumstances to you, when he has time."

Fuu could feel her face growing hot. She had not realized she had been so obvious! 

"In any case…I am glad you are here," Clef said, smiling a true smile this time. Fuu could sense the change in his face. "Your comrades are still far away…I had hoped you would all arrive at once. It would have made it much easier for me to explain things to you all."

"Lantis and Ascot aren't here yet?" Ferio exclaimed. "Never mind Ascot, but I expected Lantis to get here before I did!"

"It seems he has been delayed," the Guru replied stiffly. "Presea and I have been tracking all of your movements, and Lantis has gone off course more than once. I can only assume that they are being pursued."

"Damn!" Ferio shouted, pounding a fist into the nearby wall. "Then the Dark Riders have found us!"

"No," Clef said. "They have only found Lantis. As long as he does not lead them here, we will be safe for a while longer."

"Um," Fuu finally said. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you are saying." That was putting it mildly. It felt like they were speaking in an entirely different language. 

"Ah," Clef said, "forgive me. Of course, you have the right to know. Then let me start from the beginning." He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and began to weave a haunting tale that bewitched Fuu, utterly and completely.

"As you may know, Cephiro used to be the largest and most prosperous city in all of Pilaria. But we had more enemies than allies, and were struck down at last by Chizeta. Our disappearance entirely changed the way trade was handled in this land. Autozam claimed the title of 'superpower' and used their machines to take over what had previously been done by magicians. 

"But Cephiro never completely disappeared. Our damaged city lay in wait here by the Northern Ocean, crumbling but alive. We trained what precious few men chose to stay, and sent what men and women we could spare to act as spies to scout for any weakness within the Autozam Empire. My comrade Presea is a talented seer, and she had prophesized weeks before our destruction that there would be a time for us to return the age of magic to this world. All we needed to do was wait for our opportunity.

"Then, just a few years back, one of our spies brought back interesting news. One of our former allies has been developing weaponry for at least a decade now, and raising an army to go against Autozam. However…"

He paused, as if wondering whether to continue. The pressing look in Fuu's eyes convinced him to do so. "We have reason to believe that their battle against Autozam is a false one."

"What?" Fuu exclaimed. "What reason would this country have to wage a fake war?" 

"It's a bit of a complicated situation…but the long and short of it is that this country is attempting to gain recognition with their military in order gain subordinates and wage an even bigger war…on Cephiro."

Fuu forced down a lump forming in her throat. It bothered her how Clef avoided actually calling the country by name. Why was he hiding the most crucial information from her? "Why…"

"We have certain secrets, involving our magic arts, which this country has sought for centuries," Clef continued, his face becoming grimmer with every word. "They want to find us now, while we are weak. This is why they are attempting to conquer Autozam; the rulers of Autozam are the only ones who have an inkling of where we lie hidden."

"They've been spying on us for years," Ferio interjected, "ever since we disappeared off the map. They've been following our trails, tracking suspicious people, searching for anything that might have to do with us."

"This is why it is so important that your sisters make it here soon," Clef said. "We need all three of you here to remain safe while we decipher the rest of Presea's prophecy."

Fuu was speechless. This was so much larger than her, so hard to grasp. "How can the three of us help you?" she muttered, feeling dizzy. "Surely you don't need three young girls to survive…"

"You still don't understand, Fuu," Ferio argued. "You are all special. We didn't take you away from Fahren on a whim; we need you."

Fuu did not speak for a moment. When she did, her voice was heavy with resentment. "I suppose," she said, "that it was for the best that you took me away from the country that is secretly trying to destroy you."

Clef's eyes widened, and then grew sad. "You figured it out," he said.

"Of course. But let me say," Fuu replied, growing more determined, "I do not believe that the Empress would do what you say she is doing."

"We don't believe it was her idea," Clef said, "but she is perpetuating it. I imagine she is only imagining the treasure and prestige that awaits her country if this plan succeeds."

"You're wrong!" Fuu cried, and then clapped her dainty hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry," she stammered, tears coming into her eyes. How could they expect her to stay calm after hearing that her Empress was a traitor? "I…I think I should lie down."

There was a pregnant pause, and Clef bowed his head. "Ferio," he commanded, "show Fuu to her room and get her some food. I will brief her more at a later time."

As Ferio lead the wind child up the winding staircase, Clef fixed his amethyst eyes on Fuu's retreating back. 

This would be harder than he thought. The Gods had seen fit to smile on them once more, after eighteen years, but not before putting them through hardships. 

But then, he thought, it was understandable. How could he, after all, make these girls turn against the only homes they had ever known?

* * *

AN: Comments? Questions? Please review! It means a lot to me! 


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